Luke Kuechly Carted Off Field in Tears After Leg Injury (Video)

Luke Kuechly’s leg got caught up underneath him on a tackle and the Carolina Panthers linebacker was in tears while he was carted off the field.

For all of the struggles of the Carolina Panthers defense in 2016, you’ve never been able to question the talent or effort of linebacker Luke Kuechly. The defensive star has consistently been the leader and dominant presence in Carolina this year and in years prior. On Thursday Night Football against the New Orleans Saints, though, the Panthers’ leader may have suffered a tough blow.

With Carolina holding the lead in the fourth quarter, Kuechly made his presence felt in run defense, as he often does. When he stepped up to tackle Tim Hightower, though, things got quite precarious for the linebacker.

Hightower’s momentum pushed him back a bit and sent him falling to the ground on his left leg. When he continued going backwards with his torso, Kuechly’s leg got caught under him, though, and it looked quite painful:

It indeed was as Luke Kuechly was left on the field in obvious pain and being looked at by trainers. The leader of the Panthers was incredibly emotional, as well, breaking down into tears after injury. He was then carted off the field, still highly emotional, as teammates and Saints players all showed him deserved love:

You hate to see any player have that scary of an injury. But you can see just how much it tears up the Panthers star as well here, which makes it that much harder to watch.

Obviously we don’t yet know the extent of his injuries, but it doesn’t look good all things considered. We can only hope that it’s not as serious as the play, the ensuing scene, and Kuechly’s emotions made it all look.

More from NFL Spin Zone

    This article originally appeared on