4 Carolina Panthers jersey numbers that should be permanently retired
By Dean Jones
Luke Kuechly – Former Carolina Panthers LB
It was hard to watch the Carolina Panthers last season without Luke Kuechly marshaling the defense.
One of the most intelligent players to ever step on an NFL field was sorely missed by the organization following his shock retirement in 2019 and although he walked away for the right reasons, it left a gaping hole that the team couldn’t replace last time out.
Plenty of eyebrows were raised when the Panthers selected Kuechly out of Boston College in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft. However, it didn’t take long for the linebacker to alleviate any concerns people had about his potential to make a real difference in the pros.
Kuechly was phenomenal from the first snap until his last in a Carolina uniform. The perennial All-Pro was the heart and soul of the franchise for an eight-year period and if anyone has earned a jersey retirement, it’s him.
Adulation and the spotlight are something Kuechly tends to avoid at all costs.
If this decision is eventually made by the Panthers, it will be more of a chore than anything else for a player who meant absolutely everything, even though he’d consider it the biggest of honors.
Nobody cared more about football than Kuechly and it would be strange to see anybody wearing No. 59 at any point in the immediate future.