“I’m like, crying”: Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s recent guest recalls major career injury from 2016

Dale Earnhardt Jr. invited Luke Kuechly over to the Bojangles studio for a recent Dale Jr. Download podcast episode. At one point during the episode, the 33-year-old retired NFL star recalled a concussion that took him out of a November 2016 game against the New Orleans Saints.

Kuechly spent all eight years of his career as a linebacker for the Carolina Panthers. He won the NFL Rookie of the Year title in 2012, and the following year, he became the youngest athlete to be named the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Kuechly was named to the Pro Bowl seven times (2013-2019).

During a Thursday night game with the Saints, Kuechly collided with Tim Hightower, which left the latter with a serious concussion. The Ohio native had to stand down following the impact. Center Ryan Kalil too had to exit the field due to a shoulder injury. However, the Panthers won the game by 23-20. Looking back at the whole incident, Kuechly stated:

"I just was like, I have no idea why I'm like this. We were sitting on the field and I was just crying. Our trainer Ryan Vermillion was talking to me and I was having a meltdown."

The 33-year-old further added:

"I knew what was going on but I don't know why I'm crying. Then, I remember RV signals into his headset and he's like, I think you guys are going to need to bring the cart out. That was one thing I always told myself. No one's ever going to take you off on a cart,"

Four years later, Kuechly announced his retirement at the age of 28. He was among several others, like quarterback Andrew Luck and tight end Rob Gronkowski, who retired from professional football under the age of 30.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. was relieved at Luke Kuechly's early retirement

Dale Earnhardt Jr. wanted Luke Kuechly to play longer. However, a former professional athlete himself, Dale Jr., was well aware of the long-term health implications of playing. Therefore, he was relieved when Kuechly walked away from pro football.

"Relief." Dale Earnhardt Jr. said as quoted by NBC in an interview from 2020. "I think my feeling for Luke is relief. He had an amazing career. Obviously, I’m sure he would have loved to have played longer, but he’s made some amazing, great choices for himself and for his family and his future."

Luke Kuechly suffered at least three concussions before he signed off. He missed the last six games of 2016 and another in 2017 due to an injury to the head.

Earnhardt was no stranger to concussions, either. Per reports, Dale Earnhardt Jr. sustained at least four concussions during his career in NASCAR's top-tier racing series. In 2012, Dale Jr. suffered two concussions in two months. In 2016, the NASCAR Hall of Famer missed the last 18 races of the season due to another concussion.

"When you get in those types of situations that (Kuechly) was in, you have to make some difficult choices, and I think he made the right one. I feel like that a lot of people can learn from that. I think he set an amazing example for a lot of young folks to follow," Dale Earnhardt Jr. explained.

Although Dale Earnhardt Jr. retired from full-time racing in 2017, he has been running at least one Xfinity Series race every year since then, under the banner of JR Motorsports. However, he won't race next year due to his responsibilities with TNT and Amazon Prime's sportscasting team.