Heading into the 2020 NFL draft, the Panthers have some rather large holes to fill on their roster. One of the biggest is in the middle of their defense, where Luke Kuechly played inside linebacker the last eight years at a level we have rarely seen in the NFL.
In January, Kuechly announced his retirement from the league, beginning an exodus of almost every defensive starter in Carolina from 2019. There are some tantalyzing prospects who could potentially replace him like Clemson’s Isaiah Simmons or Oklahoma’s Kenneth Murray, but nobody will be able to live up to the high standard Kuechly set.
For his part, Kuechly doesn’t seem to have any second thoughts about not playing anymore. Speaking in an appearance on NBCSN, Kuechly told Mike Tirico that he knew it was time and he gave it everything he had.
“As the season concluded, I really kind of sat back and thought about it … I couldn’t have asked for a better situation (in Carolina), but once the season ended, I just knew that I had given it everthing I had. I was done at that point and it had nothing to do with changes in coaches or anything like that. I just think I knew in my heart that I gave it everything I had, and at this point, it was time to move in a different direction. You have to make hard decisions in your life and I think this is one of the harder ones I’ve had to make, but hopefully I can find a way to stay involved in football somehow.”
A few weeks after his retirement, there was talk of Kuechly potentially joining Matt Rhule’s staff, but he hasn’t been hired in any official capacity.
Kuechly walked away having played in 118 games, earning seven Pro Bowl nods, five All-Pros, a Defensive Rookie of the Year award and a Defensive Player of the Year. He was recently named to the NFL’s All-Decade team along with Julius Peppers and is a lock to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
