According to a report by Jourdan Rodrigue at the Athletic, the Panthers will not play starting quarterback Cam Newton or middle linebacker Luke Kuechly in tonight’s preseason game against the Bills. They are expected to play next week against the Patriots, though.
Rodrigue says this is just a precautionary move and there’s nothing wrong with either of them.
Not a huge surprise, here.
Newton and Kuechly are too valuable to risk in a meaningless game. The Falcons had three players injured last night against the Jets, so that’s exactly the kind of thing coach Ron Rivera is hoping to avoid.
Update:
The team has confirmed Newton and Kuechly will not play. Tight end Greg Olsen, running back Christian McCaffrey and linebacker Shaq Thompson have also been ruled out.
On the bright side, outside linebacker Brian Burns is dressed despite tweaking his ankle at practice a few days ago.
