For the second year in a row, Jonathon Brooks has suffered an ACL tear. Panthers head coach Dave Canales confirmed the injury for the rookie running back on Monday. 
Brooks tore his ACL during his final collegiate season, something which delayed his NFL debut. Now, after only three games with Carolina, the second-rounder will re-start the lengthy rehab process associated with the injury. He will miss the remainder of the campaign and likely time in 2025 as well.
Canales noted Brooks re-tore his right ACL, the one which was affected by last year’s injury. As expected, the Panthers were cautious in their approach to Brooks’ recovery, and he had a lengthy stay on the NFI list prior to being activated in November. He managed to take part in just two full games, seeing a total of nine carries before going down midway through yesterday’s loss to the Eagles.
Brooks’ rookie contract runs through 2027, so plenty of time remains for him to return to full health and establish himself as a key figure on a rebuilding Carolina offense. The Texans product will be faced with surgery and a long rehab process once again, though, and that will be the top priority for team and player as the season winds down. The 3-10 Panthers are out of postseason contention, but they will miss out on the opportunity to get Brooks playing time down the stretch.
In the meantime, Chuba Hubbard will remain atop the running back depth chart. The 25-year-old has enjoyed a career year in 2024, and on Sunday he eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards. One month ago, Hubbard agreed to a four-year extension which ensured he would not hit free agency and has him positioned to continue operating as Carolina’s top back for the foreseeable future. Fellow running back Raheem Blackshear was taken to hospital after suffering a chest injury, but Canales said (via NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo) he traveled home with the team. Depending on his prognosis, Hubbard may be forced to handle a very heavy workload the rest of the way.
As for Brooks, his progress in recovering after the surgery takes place will be a key offseason storyline. The team will no doubt once again take a cautious approach to his return to action, something which will likely not be feasible until midway through the 2025 season.
Damn, poor guy!
That is BRUTAL. Poor kid man smh
You’re gonna see a lot of people ask why he was even playing in meaningless games?….But they held him out over a year. More than cautious enough and he needed some game reps. Really hate this for him.
Yeah man it’s an odd choice for sure
Ugh. I hope he can come back and show most of the player he was before the first one. He’s an exciting player.
As a Panthers fan, we can’t have nice things apparently.
Hope he gets in touch with Frank Gore who suffered multiple before pros and was able to be very productive. Still early in Brooks career but it will be a big ,mental thing now.
Damn that hurts for next year
Panthers are such morons for drafting this guy. Any running back coming off an ACL injury should not be drafted any higher than the 4th round.
As long as morons are allowed to have opinions on what NFL GM’s are allowed to draft, then NFL GM’s will be allowed to draft running backs coming off an ACL injury.
This is Confucius-esque!
You gotta look at the context. The Panthers were coming off with the worst record in the league and had holes on nearly every position. Having Chuba Hubbard, RB shouldn’t been the least of their concerns. If you’ve seen their defense this year, you’d agree that they’d definitely be better off with a palyer like Marshawn Kneeland or Kris Jenkins. Not to mention how much better next year’s RB class looks, there was no reason to take Brooks.
Facts
Yeah like those morons the browns drafting that guy Nick Chubb coming off an ACL tear in the second round
Chubb started more than one season, and Brooks was not even close to the RB Chubb was in college.
Adam Thielen proved last season that he can carry that offense on his back if need be. Giving him more work wouldn’t be the worst idea.