Panthers Tracks: Imagine if Cam Newton, Luke Kuechly had to play 17-game NFL seasons
Would Luke Kuechly have made it through eight NFL seasons if he were forced to play eight more games?
Kuechly, the greatest linebacker in Carolina Panthers history, retired earlier this month at the age of 28. After 125 games in his career, he had lost a step with all of the injuries he sustained and didn’t feel he could still play the game at the level he desired.
Every year at the Super Bowl, the NFL Player’s Association (NFLPA) holds a press conference to go over the past season and what’s ahead.
The NFL Player’s Association’s (NFLPA) during Super Bowl week isn’t normally something that catches too much attention. Thursday, however, all eyes were waiting for what the union had to say after their meeting with the league.
The NFLPA and NFL’s 10-year collective bargaining agreement (CBA) ends in 2021 Representatives from both sides have been meeting for months to try and get closer to an agreement to prohibit a potential lockout. Among the big topics at hand: A 17-game season. Owners want the number of games increased so they can make more money, but that means more wear and tear on players’ bodies.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith declined this week get into specifics about exact details that have been communicated between the NFL and the players, but multiple reports, including from NFL.com, have indicated that a 17-game season is being discussed.
Players, including Patriots tight Benjamin Watson and Chargers tackle Russell Okung, on the NFLPA executive committee supported a a stance discussed by 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman earlier in the week that adding an extra game increases injury concerns.
“Players have been more aware of player safety and longevity and just life after football,” Sherman said. “The league kind of pretends that they’re interested in it, pretends that they care about it, makes all these rules, fines all these players, but then still proposes players to play an extra game. And not just 17. They’re really just saying 17 so that they can get to 18.
“Player safety, up to the point of, ‘Hey, 17 games makes us this much money, so we really don’t care how safe they are, if you’re gonna pay us this much money to play another game.’ And so that’s the part that’s really concerning for us as a union and us as players because they think that players have a price tag on their health and I don’t think we’re in the same ballpark in that regard.”
In the 2019 preseason and regular season, 224 concussions were diagnosed, 10 more than were reported in 2018. There are plenty of concerns about what adding an extra game could do to players’ bodies. Kuechly and the laundry list of ailments Carolina quarterback Cam Newton has sustained over the past two years are a glaring example of what can happen to NFL stars when they take too many hits. Imagine if they had one or two more games in each of the years they’ve played.
For Kuechly, that would mean playing an entire extra half season.
If the NFL does add an extra regular-season game, it could help mitigate concerns by decreasing the number of preseason games or length of training camp.
Changes the NFL, such as new kickoff rules and increasing concussion protocol measures, have helped decrease some injuries. According to the league, ACL tears declined from 57 to 47 from 2018 to 2019, while MCL tears dropped from 132 to 109. But there’s no denying that adding on an additional regular-season game will make those numbers will end that trend.
Just like having teams play on short weeks for Thursday Night Football, a 17th game isn’t in the best interest of the players.
The two sides have another year to work out a resolution, and neither is showing interest in sharing many details. But another lockout, like in 2011, isn’t anyone’s first choice.
Looking at it from the point of view of two of the best players in Panthers history, a 17-game season makes zero sense.
Required reading (Greg Olsen is leaving, y’all)
+ Greg Olsen’s time with the Carolina Panthers comes to an end after 9 seasons
+ Fowler: Greg Olsen needs to play somewhere he can win a Super Bowl and be a Hall of Fame lock
+ Phil Snow is mum on what the Panthers’ defense will look like, but his history has clues
+ Source: Panthers would like to return to Spartanburg for training camp in 2020
+ Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey out-starred by a hedgehog in Super Bowl commercial
This story was originally published January 31, 2020 at 4:00 AM.
