The Carolina Panthers drafted Jonathon Brooks in the 2nd round for three reasons.
First, their rushing attack finished in the bottom half in rushing yards, touchdowns, and yards per attempt. Second, Miles Sanders had a disappointing first season in Carolina and is considered a possible cap casualty. Finally, their leading rusher, Chuba Hubbard, enters the final year of his rookie contract and will be an unrestricted free agent.
The Panthers drafted him 46th overall despite suffering a significant injury in 2023.
The Carolina Panthers rookie suffered a significant knee injury in November
Jonathon Brooks exited the fourth quarter with an apparent knee injury in the Texas Longhorn’s 29-26 victory over the TCU Horned Frogs on November 11. An MRI confirmed that he tore his ACL and missed the rest of the season.
He has missed offseason workouts, OTAs, and mandatory minicamp. The Panthers placed him on the active/NFI list before training camp. He isn’t quite ready.
Jonathon Brooks will miss the preseason
Head coach Dave Canales gave an injury update on Saturday and told reporters that Jonathon Brooks will not play in their three preseason games.
“He will not play this preseason,” Canales stated. “He’s doing great. I saw him running out a little bit before practice. They have a progression on him. He feels stronger and stronger every day.
“He’s really focused and he’s into what we’re doing. Mentally, with our walkthroughs, just watching. And in classroom and stuff, he’s been really attentive that way. So I’m happy about what he’s doing there. And then physically, this is a guy that really can make an impact for us. So, again, wanna be really smart about when we bring him back in.”
Dave Canales hopes their running back can return sometime in September
Canales also told reporters that he hopes Jonathon Brooks will be ready by Week 3 or 4 but won’t rush anything.
“Week 3, Week 4—that would be great,” he replied. “Again, this is a guy with a long career ahead of him, somebody that we think really highly of. So we wanna make sure we’re really smart with this one.”
