Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan sent out well-wishes to NFC South foe Luke Kuechly, the Carolina Panthers' linebacker who tearfully exited last Thursday night's game against the New Orleans Saints with a concussion.

"My thoughts are you just hope he's OK," Ryan said Tuesday during his weekly radio appearance on Atlanta's 680 the Fan. "That's the No. 1 thing. He's a really good guy that I've gotten to know throughout the years. I think there's a fraternity amongst players that whenever somebody gets injured, it stops. You just want that person to be safe and healthy. And that was my thoughts through the entire thing."

The emotion that Kuechly showed on the field after his collision with Saints running back Tim Hightower captured the attention of the football world. He was later carted off the field.

"Obviously it was scary," Ryan said. "You just hope that he's getting better, feeling better, and that he's going to be OK moving forward.

"I've been lucky enough to have not gone through anything like that. You never know how somebody's going to respond. ... There are a lot of factors that play into it. It's one of those things, he's going to get good care. And hopefully he's back and healthy and playing for them pretty soon."

As ESPN Panthers reporter David Newton wrote, Carolina has not put a timetable on Kuechly's return. The Falcons and Panthers next meet on Christmas Eve in Charlotte. The Falcons, currently leading the NFC South at 6-4, won this season's first meeting between the teams, 48-33.

Both Ryan and Kuechly played at Boston College, where Ryan just had his No. 12 college jersey retired this past weekend. Kuechly had his No. 40 college jersey retired in October.