Panthers great Luke Kuechly gives his thoughts on Bryce Young’s performance vs. Chiefs

Panthers great Luke Kuechly believes Bryce Young’s outing against the Chiefs in Week 12 was one of his best as a pro.

Carolina Panthers great Luke Kuechly had a pretty good seat for what may have been the best game of Bryce Young’s NFL career.

Kuechly, fresh off yesterday’s shift in the radio broadcast booth at Bank of America Stadium, made his weekly appearance on Monday’s episode of Up & Adams. He and host Kay Adams chatted about Carolina’s valiant effort from their 30-27 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 12, where Young absolutely shined.

Young completed 21 of his 35 passing attempts for a season-high 263 yards and a touchdown. In his four games since returning to the starting lineup, he’s connected on 61.0 percent of his throws for 784 yards, five scores and three interceptions while leading the Panthers to a pair of wins.

[lawrence-related id=707441,707389,707373]

2 Panthers legends named semifinalists for Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 2025 class

Panthers greats Steve Smith Sr. and Luke Kuechly are amongst the 25 semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 2025 class.

Two Carolina Panthers greats are one step closer to immortalizing their legacies.

On Wednesday morning, former wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. and former linebacker Luke Kuechly were named amongst the 25 semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 2025 class. This marks Smith’s fourth year of eligibility for a spot in Canton, Ohio and Kuechly’s first.

Each of Smith’s four years on the ballot have now taken him into semifinalist status. He has yet to advance as a finalist.

Smith spent 13 of his 16 pro campaigns in Carolina—where he accumulated a franchise-leading 12,197 receiving yards, two First-team All-Pro nods, five Pro Bowl selections and a Comeback Player of the Year award. He stands as the NFL’s eighth all-time leading receiver (14,731 yards).

Kuechly’s highly-decorated career could very well turn him into a first-ballot Hall of Famer. The former ninth overall pick—over his eight seasons—captured a Defensive Rookie of the Year award, a Defensive Player of the Year award, five First-team All-Pro spots and seven Pro Bowl spots.

[lawrence-related id=705179,701700,700343]

Saints Super Bowl champ named Pro Football Hall of Fame semifinalist yet again

Jahri Evans made the cut as a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame again this year. Is the third time the charm for the Super Bowl 44 champ?

They say third time is the charm. That’s the hope for New Orleans Saints legendary offensive lineman Jahri Evans. The Pro Football Hall of Fame released their annual list of semifinalists, and Evans was one of the 25 players who made the cut.

This isn’t unfamiliar territory for him. Evans has been a part of the semifinalists for each of the last three years, but hasn’t made the final cut. He has gotten closer on each attempt.

If the trend continues, this is the year Evans will be immortalized in Canton, Ohio. Evans was a semifinalist on his first attempt. Last year, he made his way into the group of finalists. Maybe adding the Saints Ring of Honor to his resume can swing things in his favor.

Three years feels like a long time until you look at the length of time other semifinalists have waited. Torry Holt is on his 11th attempt to go from semifinalist to enshrined in Canton.

Some of the first-time semifinalists who will make it tougher on Evans are Luke Kuechly, Eli Manning and Adam Vinatieri.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Cam Newton explains why he believes Panthers are ‘avoiding his legacy’ in emotional video

Cam Newton feels as though the Panthers have been avoiding his legacy. He revealed why in an emotional video from Thursday.

The greatest Carolina Panther of all-time isn’t feeling the love from the Carolina Panthers.

On Thursday’s episode of 4th & 1 with Cam Newton, Cam Newton was asked about the organization’s trip to Munich, Germany from this past weekend. The visit featured a handful of former Panthers players representing the franchise as ambassadors—including Steve Smith Sr., Thomas Davis and Luke Kuechly.

That group, however, did not include Newton—who says he was not invited overseas.

A visibly bothered Newton then stated that the Panthers do not have any images of him up at their home of Bank of America Stadium, something he painfully learned while returning to the building for a seven-on-seven tournament last year.

“We went into the Panthers’ facility and . . . you mean to tell me that one of the greatest Panthers to ever play ain’t up nowhere? Nowhere. I’m talkin’ nowhere,” he said. “Who brought it to my attention? My son. So as a man, when you have to explain to your son . . . ‘Daddy, where’s your picture?’

“Then you know what the tour guide person said? ‘Oh, if you go up on the second and third level, Cam’s all over the place. I seen Jake Delhomme. I seen Thomas Davis. I seen Luke Kuechly. I seen Julius Peppers. I seen Steve Smith.

“At this particular point in time, the question was ‘Oh, we don’t know if Cam’s retired yet.’ News flash—I’m never gonna retire. I know I’ve played my last piece of football. It don’t matter to me to officially retire. I’m in a happy place.”

He also claimed that he reached out to the Panthers in the past about doing a live taping of his show involving himself, old teammates and current quarterback Bryce Young—but to no avail.

Newton led the Panthers to three NFC South titles, four playoff appearances and their second-ever Super Bowl appearance. On top of being the franchise’s all-time leading passer, he’s also the only Panther to win Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year.

His last down came in 2021.

[lawrence-related id=702110,700334,699623]

Panthers legends among final 50 modern-era candidates for 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class

Two Panthers legends are closer to Canton.

Two Carolina Panthers greats are a little bit closer to Canton.

On Wednesday, the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Modern-Era Screening Committee trimmed the list of 167 nominees for its 2025 class to just 50. Among the 50 nominees who have advanced to the next stage of consideration include former wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. and former linebacker Luke Kuechly.

Smith Sr. has been named a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for each of the past three years. On top of being the franchise’s all-time leading pass catcher, Smith Sr. also ranks eighth on the NFL’s all-time receiving list (14,731).

Kuechly, who retired at the age of 28, is in his very first year of eligibility. He was named the 2012 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and the 2013 NFL Defensive Player of the Year and earned five First-team All-Pro nods and seven Pro Bowl selections.

The full selection committee will now reduce the number of nominees to 25 in about four weeks.

[lawrence-related id=705179,701692,700343]

Panthers great Luke Kuechly looks back on his emotional reaction to concussion in 2016

Panthers great Luke Kuechly sobbed uncontrollably after sustaining a concussion in 2016. He looked back on that moment this week.

To some, it may have been before his time—but the retirement of Carolina Panthers great Luke Kuechly actually came right on time.

The former linebacker joined this past week’s episode of the Dale Jr. Download podcast, hosted by NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. When touching on the difficult conversation about concussions, which had an impact on the careers of both Kuechly and Earnhardt Jr., Kuechly talked about when he knew it was time to walk away from the game.

“I love everything about football,” he said. “I love the offseason, I love training camp, I love OTAs, I love being around the guys, I like flying to games, I love playing football, I love to practice. I get to wake up every day and put sweats on and go hang out with 120 of my boys and play football and lift weights and hang out.

“But I knew . . . I got hit a few times the previous couple of years. I got hit a couple times that year, I had some other stuff that was bugging me and I just remember after one game, late in that season, I was like, ‘Man . . . I just can’t do it anymore.’ I can’t play how I want to, I can’t be as physical as I want to because stuff was starting to happen and I just remember I got home that night and I’m like, ‘Can’t do it.'”

Kuechly retired at the age of 28 due to the effects of his concussions. His career ended up spanning eight seasons—a Hall of Fame-worthy tenure decorated by a Defensive Player of the Year award, five First-team All-Pro nods and seven Pro Bowl selections.

While continuing to navigate through the topic, Kuechly then recalled the very emotional (and nationally-televised) reaction he had to a concussion back in 2016 . . .

He’d call it a career three years later.

[lawrence-related id=705301,704339,691269]

Panthers great Luke Kuechly praises Xavier Legette for Week 4 performance

Panthers legend Luke Kuechly seemed awfully impressed by Xavier Legette’s performance in Week 4.

A Carolina Panthers legend is riding with rookie wideout Xavier Legette.

Former linebacker Luke Kuechly talked about his favorite cats during his weekly spot on Up & Adams today. When host Kay Adams asked Kuechly for his thoughts on yesterday’s 34-24 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, he began by praising Carolina’s 2024 first-round pick.

“I think the biggest takeaway—Xavier Legette played really well yesterday,” Kuechly said. “He had a couple drops, but that’s okay for a young guy. But he stepped up and he played like the receiver that we drafted.”

Legette, in the team’s first outing since losing veteran receiver Adam Thielen to a hamstring injury, stepped up for 66 yards and a score on six receptions. And as promised, he even trotted out ol’ Dolla Bill in end zone to celebrate the first touchdown of his NFL career.

Kuechly continued.

“His effort’s really good, his one-two’s really good,” he added. “We drafted a guy we wanted to run down the field, be fast, be physical and be a difficult guard for defensive backs.

“And watching him run his routes—I’ma go back to that glance—he pushed up on this DB, he got into his chest, he stemmed him, he snapped it off. Once that DB got behind him and he got him on his back, you’re not playing through Xavier Legette to get that ball.”

So, even in defeat, at least it’s good to know that Kuechly thinks the kid will be alright.

[lawrence-related id=700483,698809,698597]

Luke Kuechly excited over Panthers’ Week 3 win vs. Raiders: ‘It looked easy’

You can’t blame Luke Kuechly for being a little excited over the Panthers’ Week 3 win in Las Vegas.

You can’t blame Luke Kuechly for being a bit excited about the Carolina Panthers’ Week 3 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. After all, the last time this team was any good was when they had, well, Luke Kuechly.

The former five-time First-team All-Pro joined Kay Adams for his weekly spot on Monday’s episode of Up & Adams. When asked about his victorious Panthers, Kuechly gave enormous props to head coach Dave Canales for successfully navigating through a particularly tough week.

“And then he comes back this week, he makes a very difficult call to play Andy [Dalton],” he told Adams. “And then we go into that game, and all he does with this game is just go out and we hung over 30 on the Raiders that just beat a really good Baltimore Ravens team. And we didn’t just beat ’em. We scored on seven out of 11 of our drives and it looked easy.”

Sunday’s 36-22 triumph looked pretty easy for Dalton, who threw for 317 yards and three touchdowns in his first outing since being named the team’s new starter under center. The 14th-year veteran, with that stunning performance, became the first quarterback in the NFL this season to pass for at least 300 yards and at least three scores in a game.

Kuechly, who was in attendance at Allegiant Stadium as the Panthers’ radio analyst, was probably also a little proud of the defense. Carolina recorded a season-high three sacks, picked off quarterback Gardner Minshew and held the Raiders to just 55 rushing yards.

[lawrence-related id=703933,703899,703926]

16 former Panthers named preliminary nominees for Pro Football Hall of Fame

16 former Panthers, and a current assistant coach, were named amongst the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 167 preliminary nominees for the 2025 class.

Which Carolina Panthers great could be joining Julius Peppers in Canton, Ohio? Well, 16 of them will at least have a shot.

On Wednesday, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced 167 preliminary nominees for their 2025 class. Among those listed were 16 former Panthers.

Those players are as follows:

  • QB Jake Delhomme
  • RB Stephen Davis
  • RB/WR Eric Metcalf
  • WR Muhsin Muhammad
  • WR Steve Smith Sr.
  • TE Wesley Walls
  • TE Jeremy Shockey
  • OT Jordan Gross
  • C Ryan Kalil
  • DE Jared Allen
  • LB Jessie Armstead
  • LB Luke Kuechly
  • LB Lee Woodall
  • S Eugene Robinson
  • CB Charles Tillman
  • K John Kasay

Headlining the group is Kuechly, who is now in his first year of eligibility for the honor. The 2013 NFL Defensive Player of the Year and seven-time All-Pro spoke about the possibility of being a first-ballot Hall of Famer back in February.

“I think when you think about the Hall of Fame, it’s obviously awesome,” Kuechly said on an episode of Up & Adams. “It’s the highest honor that you can have as a football player on an individual basis. And you look at the guys that got in there at the linebacker position, the guys I grew up watching—Derrick Brooks, Brian Urlacher, Ray Lewis, obviously Pep got in. Those three guys that I mentioned and then Patrick [Willis]. And all of ’em were a little bit different.”

Former cornerback DeAngelo Hall, who is currently the assistant defensive backs coach for Carolina, was also one of the 167 nominees.

[lawrence-related id=691273,699732,701692]

Panthers great Luke Kuechly gives his opinion on Bryce Young’s struggles

Luke Kuechly isn’t ready to close the book on Panthers QB Bryce Young just yet.

Many Carolina Panthers fans seem to be jumping off the Bryce Young bandwagon after a second straight dud to start to the 2024 campaign. But a franchise legend won’t be joining them, at least not yet.

Former Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly talked about the team’s 26-3 loss on this morning’s episode of Up & Adams. The defeat was headlined by another disappointing performance from Young, who threw for a career-low 84 yards as well as his third head-scratching interception of the last two weeks.

Host Kay Adams asked Kuechly what he thinks is going wrong with the 23-year-old passer. And if you’re looking for a little ray of hope right now, the future Pro Football Hall of Famer may have provided it . . .

https://www.youtube.com/live/AQU89BdJG_8?si=HO4BASJlkZzVwUii&t=2628

Young’s early-season struggles are a bit more concerning when you consider how well his offensive line has played—as was pressured on four his 29 dropbacks on Sunday, the lowest amount for any starting quarterback in Week 2. The line, per Pro Football Focus, was responsible for just two of those pressures.

Through two games, Young has completed just over 55 percent of his passes for 245 yards, no touchdowns and the three picks.

[lawrence-related id=703428,703413,703386]