Luke Kuechly reflection
By: Jake Rajala
Luke Kuechly was a heat-seeking missile in his NFL career. It’s safe to say he hit the ground running. He unleashed a league-leading 164 tackles as a rookie, which led him to win Defensive Rookie of the Year. Luke only built off his rookie season.
Lukkkeee had a rich sophomore season, as he recorded 156 tackles, 7 pass deflections, four ints, and 10 TFLs. This led him to be named first team All-Pro and win Defensive Player of the Year. He was far from finished. Just as Cam Newton was an MVP on offense, Luke was DPOY on defense.
Luke earned Pro Bowl honors in every season. He won first team AP (including his DPOY season). He was named second team in two seasons. Luke played for the vast majority of his career, but he wasn’t a complete iron man. He missed three games in 2015, six games in 2016, and one game in 2017.
As it’s well noted, Luke didn’t play for a very long time. He only played in eight seasons. Luke is only 36. Meanwhile, the Saints MLB Demario Davis is 36 and he’s playing at a very high level. Furthermore, Bobby Wagner is 35 years old and playing at an All-Pro level.
Luke opened up about his decision to retire. He stated that having a couple of concussions could affect his health long-term. Furthermore, he felt like he wasn’t physically up to handle hits and collisions.
Luke may have hung up his cleats at a point where he was playing at a high level (even if he wasn’t as strong as he was early in his career), but he still had a Hall of Fame-caliber career. Luke could have even been one of the best MLBs of all time if he won a Super Bowl or two. Luke had similar success as Mike Singletary, but Mike played longer and he also won a Super Bowl.
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