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One of Panthers’ all-time greats will join the team’s broadcast in 2022-23 NFL season

Luke Kuechly can’t seem to stay away from football.

During the off-season, the Panthers’ legendary linebacker spent time on both the Buffalo Bills and Carolina Panthers sidelines during OTAs. Most recently, Kuechly watched an early June OTA practice on the fields behind Bank of America for the first time in a while. After retiring from the Panthers in 2020, he joined the Panthers as a scout, but resigned after the 2020 season.

Monday, the Panthers announced Kuechly is back with the organization that drafted him No. 9 overall in 2012. For seven games he’ll join the Panthers radio broadcast team, calling games with play-by-play announcer Anish Shroff and either Jordan Gross or Jake Delhomme, along with sideline reporter Kristen Balboni.

He’ll work the booth for six home games, starting with the Week 1 home-opener against the Cleveland Browns. Then, he’ll call Week 4 against the Cardinals, Week 5 against the 49ers, Week 7 when Tom Brady comes to town, Week 12 against the Broncos, and Week 15 when Carolina hosts Pittsburgh.

His lone road trip comes in Week 9, when Carolina visits Cincinnati. On games when Kuechly is not the No. 3, Jim Szoke will continue as the third man in the booth.

Kuechly should be a natural in the booth, considering how detailed he was in the film room as a player. Playing middle linebacker, it was his job to call defensive plays, handle checks and make sure his teammates were lined up correctly. He’s been explaining football to others his entire life.

Sundays in the booth standing next to former teammates Gross and/or Delhomme shouldn’t be much different.