Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly will miss his third straight game. Kuechly, who suffered a concussion 19 days ago against the Jaguars, was on Friday ruled out of this weekend's meeting in Tampa Bay.
The past two weeks, the Panthers listed Kuechly as doubtful on Friday before he sat out against the Texans and Saints. He also made at least an appearance every day at practice. This week has been different. From Wednesday through Friday, Kuechly wasn't seen during the portion of practice open to the media.
Coach Ron Rivera repeated Friday that Kuechly hasn't had any setbacks and explained the Panthers chose to put him through work inside this week.
"He won't travel, that's the biggest reason," Rivera said when asked why Kuechly has already been ruled out.
"There are some things that he did with the trainer and they continued it all week. It's what [head trainer Ryan Vermillion] thought would be a really good course of action."
Panthers Friday Injury Report
| Player | Injury | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LB Luke Kuechly | Concussion | DNP | DNP | DNP/OUT | |
| WR Jerricho Cotchery | Ankle | DNP | DNP | DNP/OUT | |
| OT Daryl Williams | Knee | DNP | DNP | DNP/OUT | |
| G Amini Silatolu | Ankle | Limited | DNP/OUT | Suffered high-ankle sprain Thursday. | |
| RB Jonathan Stewart | Tibia | DNP | DNP | Full/PROBABLE | Good to go. |
| FB Mike Tolbert | Groin | DNP | DNP | Full/PROBABLE | Ditto. |
| LB Thomas Davis | Chest | Limited | Full | Full/PROBABLE | May not play every snap, but came a long way this week. |
| WR Philly Brown | Illness | DNP | Full | Full/PROBABLE | |
| DT Dwan Edwards | Not injury related | DNP | Full | Full/PROBABLE | |
| CB Josh Norman | Not injury related | DNP | Full/PROBABLE | ||
| CB Charles Tillman | Not injury related | DNP | Full/PROBABLE |