CHARLOTTE – Linebacker Luke Kuechly left Thursday night's game to be evaluated for a possible concussion and did not return.
"The only thing I can tell you is that he's in the protocol," head coach Ron Rivera said following the Panthers' 28-23 loss to the Eagles. "I don't know anything other than that."
As the clock ticked under the five-minute mark in the second quarter, after Kuechly was blocked hard on a LeGarrette Blount 2-yard run down to the 1, Kuechly slumped in the middle of the field before jogging off. Kuechly appeared to be flexing his left shoulder while talking to head athletic trainer Ryan Vermillion on the sideline, but he soon headed to the locker room and never returned.