Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly will miss the first game of his NFL career Sunday.

Kuechly, who’s in the league’s concussion protocol, has been downgraded to out for Week 2 against the Texans. Coach Ron Rivera on Friday said the Panthers would give Kuechly a chance to clear the protocol’s final stages, which include passing tests from an independent neurologist.

“We’re going to weigh all the possibilities,” Rivera said. “The other thing to look at is who we play coming up … As we look at the schedule as it comes up, we’ve got four conference games, and two of those are division games. There’s a lot of things that are going to weigh into this.

“I’m like Luke, I’m chomping at the bit, but at the same time, you have to be careful.”

During his three years at Boston College and through three-plus seasons as a pro, Kuechly had never missed a game. He played 93 percent of potential snaps since coming to Carolina while making 49 straight regular-season starts.

A.J. Klein, who replaced Kuechly after he suffered his first concussion in the NFL last week against the Jaguars, will make his 11th career start.