LB Luke Kuechly
Was it frustrating when you weren't cleared the first time?
“You guys know. I want to play. I want to play as much as I can because that’s what I love to do. It’s weird, you can’t tape it up, you can’t suck it up. It’s one of those things that you’ve just got to wait for it to go away ... That was probably the most difficult part, knowing that you can’t really tough it out. You’ve just got to sit there and wait. I appreciate all the guys around here supporting me. The people in Charlotte were very nice saying we can’t to get you back and take your time."
Have you had a concussion before?
“No. I always wondered if I knew if I had one. Man, definitely (not).’’
Did you know when you made the hit?
“I knew something was wrong. I tried to get up. I tried to shake it off. Then I knew something was wrong. That’s my only way to describe it. It’s a weird situation. I hit him, and I knew something wasn’t quite right, and I tried to get up, and it wouldn’t go away ... And then Thomas (Davis) told me to sit on the ground. I always listen to what Thomas says. So that’s what happened.’’
You usually have perfect form, so how did the play happen?
“I remember when I went in [for the tackle], they threw the check down and I was coming from my left to his right. So I was going to hit him, and I remember seeing his number right in my face. When I went to hit him, I think either I moved or he moved at the last second, and when that happened I hit him square. Usually, that doesn’t happen. Because of that, my head was on the wrong side.’’
What was the toughest part about sitting out?
“Not being able to go play football. When you want to go out there and you’re sitting in here and all the guys come in, they’re all sweaty, they had a good practice, they’re all joking around about what happened at practice. You’re just like, ‘Man!’ It’s like you’re in time out and you can’t go out and play with your friends. It’s like detention and they’re at recess and you can’t hang out with them."
What were the tests like?
“A lot of it is reaction time. Or maybe they’ll show you a shape and you go through a bunch of tests and then you have to draw the shapes all over again ... You guys think it’s easy now. But you get a smack in the head it’s a little more difficult.’’
Do you worry about suffering another concussion?
“No. I was told as long as you give it time and let it heal you’re not going to be any more susceptible to one in the future ... The thing I was told is you want to take your time. Two is if you let it heal you’re not any more susceptible than you were anyway. Those are the good two pieces of advice I took away. We know a lot more about it now. What we set up here and what the NFL has set up is very beneficial."
Head coach Ron Rivera
Nice to have your middle linebacker back?
"It's like he picked up right where he left off, communicating, running around all over the place, doing things that are typical of Luke. It really was great to have him out there. It was a long process, but the process was what it needed to be."
How much do you think he'll play Sunday?
"Well, a lot is going to have to do with his conditioning, obviously. But I can see us doing certain things in terms of pitch counts, just keeping an eye on how many snaps he's getting. Again, we feel very comfortable with A.J [Klein]. He's proven he can play the middle for us as well, not just as an outside backer, but he can play the middle for us."
How concerned are you he may suffer another concussion?
"I'm not concerned because everything we needed to do and were supposed to, we did. We did it the right way. The hit that it happened on, and I've looked at it a few times, was one of those things where the back turned into him and caught him awkward. And it's so rare to see him out of position for that to happen, and I think that was probably the main culprit as far as it occurring and hopefully it doesn't happen that way again. He's usually in a better position, usually a better spot that he was in, and the back turned a way that I thought was opposite. From my perspective, and having been involved in tackles, you see the guy and you expect him to turn away from you and not into you and I think that's kind of what caught him off guard. I think he was getting ready to shoot across the body and all of a sudden it was right there, so that was one of those awkward moments when you end up tackling somebody and, unfortunately, that was the result."
DE Jared Allen
"He's a beast," defensive end Jared Allen said. "That dude is fast to the ball, instinctual, and he plays with an excitement and energy that carries out to the whole defense, and to be honest, it carries out through the whole organization. You see it on film, and then you get here, and you feel it from top to bottom."
DE MARIO ADDISON
You're good at describing people. How would you describe Kuechly?
"Baller. Straight baller. He's a baller. He's one guy I know that he never show up fatigued, so I never notice he get tired. I don't think he get tired, he's like Superman. So Luke is like Superman."
So you think he won't have an issue with conditioning?
"You heard what I said, right? Luke don't get tired, he's going to be aight."