The Panthers have won their first four games despite the absence of linebacker Luke Kuechly for almost all of those contests, but it looks like they’ll have him back in the lineup this week.
Kuechly has been out since suffering a concussion in the season-opening victory over the Jaguars and Jonathan Jones of the Charlotte Observer reports that he is out of the league’s concussion protocol after being cleared by an independent neurologist. Assuming there are no setbacks in practice over the next couple of days, he should be in the lineup against the Seahawks on Sunday.
A.J. Klein filled in for Kuechly while he was recovering and did a solid job in the middle of the Panthers defense. Kuechly brings more to the table, however, and should boost the Panthers’ chances of keeping their undefeated string going against Seattle.
In addition to bumping Carolina to 5-0, a win over Seattle would exorcise some demons from recent games against the Seahawks. The Panthers have lost to Seattle four times in the last three years with all three regular season losses coming by less than seven points.