Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly left the team's loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night with a head injury. It was quickly announced that he was in the concussion protocol and was out for at least the rest of the game. 

Considering it was the third time in the last three years that Kuechly has been placed in the protocol (he missed three games in 2015 and six games in 2016 due to concussions), it seemed like a potential long-term absence was in store. However, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Sunday morning that Kuechly did not suffer a concussion on Thursday night. 

Despite the Carolina Panthers announcing that Luke Kuechly had entered the concussion protocol Thursday night, the standout linebacker passed his concussion test and the team does not believe he suffered another one, league sources told ESPN.

...

But all tests conducted on Kuechly since Thursday night's loss to the Eagles have not revealed another concussion.

The Panthers, though, almost immediately pushed back on this report. Here's PR man Steven Drummond swatting it back with the quickness. 

We're going to go ahead and take the Panthers at their word that Kuechly is in the concussion protocol until they announce otherwise. It's obviously possible that he could clear out of it by the time the Panthers play in Week 7 (Davante Adams went to the hospital after one of the worst concussion-causing hits I've ever seen and caught two touchdowns against the Cowboys 10 days later), but we probably won't get information on that front until next week.