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More than a week after suffering concussion, Luke Kuechly ruled out vs. Raiders

Everything about Luke Kuechly’s concussion was scary.

It was scary to see him crying on the field against the New Orleans Saints last Thursday night. It’s also scary, given his history, that eight days after suffering the concussion the Carolina Panthers ruled their star linebacker out of Sunday’s game against the Oakland Raiders.

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Kuechly missed three games last season due to a concussion. He didn’t practice this week and the Panthers have offered almost no information on his status. Clearly the Panthers are being careful, but it has to be worrisome that their 25-year-old star has another multi-week concussion.

The Panthers are 4-6, and are small underdogs at an 8-2 Oakland Raiders team on Sunday. It’s fair to wonder if and when they might shut Kuechly down for the season. Would they consider it a lost season at seven losses? Eight? They’ll have to weigh the risk of bringing Kuechly back this season if they feel they’re out of the playoff race. Kuechly is too valuable to the franchise to risk bringing him back in a meaningless situation.

Hopefully that’s all moot. Hopefully Kuechly is close to being cleared and returns soon and doesn’t suffer any more concussions. But we’ve seen enough stories of recurring concussions by now that Kuechly’s case is worth watching.

Luke Kuechly won't play this week due to a concussion (AP)
Luke Kuechly won’t play this week due to a concussion (AP)

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!