General manager Dave Gettleman
“Luke is one of the best young players in the NFL and I’m very excited that the extension is done. Like Cam Newton’s extension, this contract allows us to do the long-term planning and have the fixed cost that we need to continue to build the best team possible.”
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Linebacker Thomas Davis
“He deserves every cent of it, if not more … To me, he deserves to be the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL for what he’s capable of doing and what he has done.’’
Can you put a price on what he’s worth?
“You can’t. It’s one of those things when you look at what Tom Brady does for the Patriots. That’s Luke to us. That’s how I view him.’’
Is it a coincidence you’ve been a top-10 defense since he’s been here?
“It ain’t no coincidence, man. His body of work speaks for itself. What he’s been able to accomplish, I don’t think there has been a better linebacker in this league since he’s come into the league … I get to personally watch this dude work day in and day out. Every play, every second he’s on the field I’m on the field and I get to see everything he does. So I can say that and truly mean it and understand what he brings to this defense, what he’s done for this league since he’s been here.”
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Head coach Ron Rivera
“We’ve been very fortunate; we’ve got one of the big pieces on the offense side in place in Cam. Cam’s been tremendous for us and he got rewarded for it because he earned it … If something’s going to be done with Luke, it’s because he earned it. Just like Thomas earned his extension this year and Greg Olsen. These guys play important roles on our defense and offense, and they fit us and we fit them. I think that’s the important thing a lot of guys got to keep their focus on. Just because you’re playing really doesn’t mean you may go somewhere else and play as well. I think as a player you’ve really got to think about fit … Luke fits us and we believe in him.”
Did you know he’d be such a good fit before you drafted him?
“I’m very fortunate; I’ve played the game at the level and then I’ve coached it and I’ve coached a lot of good guys. I just remember watching him and seeing the things that he did and thinking, ‘God, this guy would be the perfect fit for us.’ Why? Because he’s got a great first step, he plays downhill, he’s got some feel in pass drops and pass coverages and he reads things and diagnoses things very quickly. The one thing he’s done that has surprised me is his complete command of what we do. When you find a guy like that, that’s pretty special, and you want to try to keep him around.”
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Defensive coordinator Sean McDermott
How much has Luke help improve the defense?
“There’s a lot of areas where he’s helped us; there’s no doubt about it. Within that we’ve built a culture around here that is all about team. Being selfless and putting others before ourselves, and I think Luke personifies that.”
Money won’t likely change him, right?
“I would be hard-pressed to find a guy that would handle it any better than Luke would. He’s a class young man, he’s been raised the right way by his parents, and on a day-to-day basis, he models that around here.”
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Congrats to my brother lkuechly #luuuuuuke I can’t think of a person more deserving!!… https://t.co/snMOxgbuVq
— Thomas Davis (@ThomasDavisSDTM) September 10, 2015
Congrats to my bro and locker mate @LukeKuechly you deserve it! #keeppounding
— Shaq Thompson (@ShaqThompson_7) September 10, 2015
Congrats to my guy @LukeKuechly on his new contact extension! There’s no one more deserving! Great person, player, teammate, and friend!
— AJ Klein (@AJKlein47) September 10, 2015
Congrats to @LukeKuechly #welldeserve #letmeholdsomething
— charles johnson (@randywattson) September 10, 2015
Couldn’t be happier for my guy @LukeKuechly such a great player! But and even better teammate and person!
— Derek Anderson (@DAnderson314) September 10, 2015