The Panthers placed Brooks (core) on injured reserve Wednesday, Darin Gantt of the team's official site reports.
As a result of the transaction, Brooks won't be eligible to play in any of the Panthers' next four games, but he's expected to miss additional time beyond that. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported earlier Wednesday that the running back will require surgery to repair a core muscle, which will keep him out for at least six weeks. With Brooks joining Trevor Etienne (ankle) on IR, AJ Dillon is left as the only reserve option on the 53-man roster behind lead back Chuba Hubbard. Carolina has Ahmani Marshall and Anthony Tyus on its practice squad, and the team will work out veteran Austin Ekeler on Wednesday and potentially sign him to bolster its running-back room, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston.
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Panthers' Jonathon Brooks: Requires surgery, out six weeks
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Brooks is expected to undergo surgery Wednesday to repair a core-muscle injury and is likely to miss at least six weeks, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.
Brooks is expected to be officially placed on injured reserve in the coming days after he exited this past Sunday's 34-3 win over the Falcons due to what had previously been labeled as a groin injury. With Brooks set to miss time, Chuba Hubbard should be further insulated as the Panthers' No. 1 back, while AJ Dillon is lone healthy backup option on the 53-man roster. Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston relays that the Panthers plan to work out veteran Austin Ekeler on Wednesday, and he could eventually be signed to provide further depth in the backfield.
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Panthers' Jonathon Brooks: Week-to-week with groin injury
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Brooks is considered week-to-week while he receives further medical opinions on the groin injury he sustained in Sunday's 34-3 win over the Falcons, Tom Pelissero of Netflix reports.
The Panthers are unlikely to provide a formal update on Brooks' status until he gets checked out by multiple doctors, but the running back appears destined to miss time after tweaking the same groin that he first injured during training camp. Brooks had been operating as the clear No. 2 option out of the backfield behind Chuba Hubbard through the first two weeks of the season, logging 19 and 33 percent snap shares in those contests while carrying nine times for 30 yards and recording two catches for 43 yards on three targets.
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Panthers' Jonathon Brooks: Undergoing tests on groin injury
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Head coach Dave Canales said Monday that Brooks is having tests done on the groin injury that he sustained during Sunday's 34-3 win in Atlanta, and an update on the running back's health will arrive Wednesday, Sheena Quick of Fox Sports Radio 1340 reports.
Prior to leaving the Panthers' Week 2 contest in the fourth quarter, Brooks mustered five carries for 16 yards and one catch for minus-5 yards, while fellow RB Chuba Hubbard had 12 rushes for 53 yards and caught both of his targets for 11 yards and one TD. Based on Canales' comments, it's unclear if Brooks is in danger of missing any time, but AJ Dillon would be the next player up in the backfield if Brooks needs time on the sideline.
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Panthers' Jonathon Brooks: Considered day-to-day
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Head coach Dave Canales told reporters after Sunday's 34-3 win over the Falcons that Brooks is considered day-to-day due to a groin injury, Joe Person of The Athletic reports.
Brooks aggravated a groin injury that dates back to training camp during the fourth quarter of Sunday's game and did not return. It looks like the injury is not considered a long-term issue, but it puts his status for Week 3 against the Browns on Sept. 27 in jeopardy. Chuba Hubbard would see an even bigger role if Brooks were to miss time, and AJ Dillon would be next in line for RB2 duties.
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Panthers' Jonathon Brooks: Heads to locker room with groin injury
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Brooks exited Sunday's game against the Falcons in the fourth quarter due to a groin injury and is questionable to return, Joe Person of The Athletic reports.
Brooks carried five times for 16 yards and caught his lone target for minus-5 yards before he was seen heading to the locker room with a trio of Panthers staff members, according to Mike Kaye of ESPN.com. It's not clear when Brooks might have sustained the injury, but he received his final carry of the afternoon with 11:58 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Panthers should provide more details on Brooks' condition shortly, but even if his injury is only a minor concern, he'll likely be done for the day while Carolina is sitting on a sizable lead.
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Panthers' Jonathon Brooks: Practicing again Friday
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Brooks (groin) was in uniform for Friday's practice, his third straight session, Mike Kaye of ESPN.com reports.
With Brooks having now been present for three consecutive practices, he's trending in the right direction for Sunday's opener against the Bears. Assuming no setbacks, he should split backfield work with Chuba Hubbard, who remains the favorite to start and has been a full practice participant all week.
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Panthers' Jonathon Brooks: Declares himself 100 percent
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Brooks (groin) said Wednesday he's 100 percent healthy and expects to play Sunday against the Bears, Steve Reed of the Associated Press reports.
Brooks was officially limited in practice Wednesday, but all indications are he did everything in the session and looked ready to go for the start of the season. Brooks will push Chuba Hubbard for carries in the Carolina backfield, but Hubbard is expected to open the campaign as the starter and lead back while Brooks sees plenty of work as the 1B option. It may be best to take a wait-and-see approach with him in fantasy.
Brooks (groin) was listed as a limited participant in Wednesday's practice.
There's now an official body part attached to Brooks' injury status after the Panthers were forced to clarify the running back's issue on the team's first official injury report of the season. Brooks has been dealing with "soreness" for more than a week, and the good news is that the problem is not in his surgically repaired knee. He was in full pads Wednesday, and a limited start to the week gives Brooks a good chance to play Sunday against the Bears. Chuba Hubbard is expected to open 2026 as the 1A to Brooks' 1B in the Carolina backfield.
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Panthers' Jonathon Brooks: Working off to side Wednesday
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Brooks (soreness) was working off to the side with a trainer during Wednesday's practice, Mike Kaye of ESPN.com reports.
Brooks has been dealing with some soreness in an undisclosed area for the past couple of days, as coach Dave Canales has been vague when describing the running back's issue. There doesn't seem to be any indication Brooks is in danger of missing Week 1 against the Bears in 11 days, but he's going to need to get back on the practice field next week.
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Panthers' Jonathon Brooks: Dealing with soreness Tuesday
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Coach Dave Canales said Brooks missed practice Tuesday due to general soreness, Sheena Quick of Fox Sports Radio 1340 reports.
It doesn't sound like anything serious for the 23-year-old running back after he played 20 offensive snaps during the preseason, rushing eight times for 23 yards and one touchdown. He also caught one pass for nine yards. Brooks is expected to work in tandem with Chuba Hubbard (hamstring) this season, but there's a chance the first running back selected in the 2024 NFL Draft can seize the starting role if he can show he's past the knee issues that ruined his first two seasons.
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Panthers' Jonathon Brooks: Possible committee with Hubbard
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Coach Dave Canales told reporters Monday that the Panthers will go with a committee Week 1 with Brooks and Chuba Hubbard (hamstring), provided that Hubbard is healthy, per Joe Person of the Athletic.
Hubbard logged a full practice Monday after missing time with a hamstring injury, which suddenly puts Carolina's backfield rotation back in flux. Drafters had been aggressively moving Brooks up the ADP all summer, and that movement took another leap after Hubbard was labeled week-to-week with a hamstring issue Aug. 13. Now, it appears that it will be a timeshare in the Carolina backfield, at least to begin the season. The caveat, of course, will be both backs remaining healthy by the time the season kicks off.
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Panthers' Jonathon Brooks: Gets into end zone against Jags
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Brooks carried the ball five times for 18 yards and a touchdown in Friday's 34-17 preseason win over the Jaguars.
With Chuba Hubbard (hamstring) sidelined, Brooks worked with the Panthers' starting offense for the entire first quarter and opened the scoring with a one-yard TD plunge on the team's second possession. Hubbard is expected to be healthy for a Week 1 tilt against the Bears, but in the meantime, Brooks is getting a chance to make his case to take over the starting job in Carolina's backfield.
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Panthers' Jonathon Brooks: Gets start in Saturday's preseason loss
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Brooks carried the ball three times for five yards and caught his only target for nine yards in Saturday's 29-14 preseason loss to the Bills.
After sitting out Carolina's preseason opener last week in the Hall of Fame Game, Brooks got the start Saturday while Chuba Hubbard deals with a hamstring issue. Brooks didn't make much of an impact while playing the first three possessions, but the entire first-team offense struggled to move the ball. The first running back off the board in the 2024 draft has appeared in only three NFL games so far as injuries have ruined the start of his career, but the Panthers are confident he can still contribute. Rico Dowdle averaged 16.2 touches a game last season as Hubbard's main backfield partner, but that might be a lofty goal for Brooks' volume, assuming he's able to stay on the field in 2026.
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Panthers' Jonathon Brooks: Won't play in HOF Game
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Brooks won't play in the Hall of Fame Game on Thursday, Joe Person of The Athletic reports.
The Panthers are holding out starters and key backups, leaving most of the snaps to players who won't end up on the 53-man roster. For Brooks, the question at this point is what his workload split with Chuba Hubbard will look like. Hubbard remains the favorite to start Week 1, but summer buzz around Brooks suggests the Panthers have a significant role for him in mind.
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Panthers' Jonathon Brooks: Won't play in 2025 after PUP move
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The Panthers are placing Brooks on the physically unable to perform list, ruling him out for the entire 2025 season.
Players can return from the PUP list when placed on it at the start of training camp or before Week 1, but not if they get the designation this early in the offseason. Brooks tore the ACL in his right knee each of the past two years, bringing his college career to an early conclusion and then limiting his rookie season to three games. The Panthers took him in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 46th overall, but they'll now move forward with Chuba Hubbard, Rico Dowdle and Trevor Etienne as the main candidates to take carries in 2025.
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Panthers' Jonathon Brooks: Sent to IR
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Carolina placed Brooks (knee) on injured reserve Tuesday, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.
Brooks' move to IR was fully expected after the 2024 second-round pick suffered a torn ACL in his right knee during Sunday's 22-16 loss to the Eagles. The setback is a devastating one for the 21-year-old running back, who tore the same ligament in the same knee last November during his final collegiate season at Texas. Brooks didn't make his NFL debut until a little over a year after suffering the first ACL tear, so he'll almost certainly open the 2025 season on IR and may not be ready for game action until late in the campaign. He appeared in just three games for Carolina as a rookie, carrying the ball nine times for 22 yards and recording three receptions for 23 yards on three targets.
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Panthers' Jonathon Brooks: To have more tests on knee
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Coach Dave Canales said after Sunday's 22-16 loss at Philadelphia that Brooks will undergo further testing on his right knee to determine the extent of his injury, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports.
Brooks remained on the turf after getting injured in the second quarter and needed a cart to get to the locker room. Per Canales, Brooks has pain in his right knee, but no diagnosis has yet come to light. Fellow RB Raheem Blackshear suffered a chest injury Sunday, leaving Chuba Hubbard as the only healthy player at the position on the Panthers' active roster.
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Panthers' Jonathon Brooks: Injures knee Sunday
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Brooks was forced out of Sunday's game against the Eagles with a knee injury, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.
Prior to being carted off the field, Brooks carried once for minus-3 yards. With Raheem Blackshear having sustained a chest injury during the contest, Chuba Hubbard remains available to handle Carolina's backfield duties versus Philadelphia.
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Panthers' Jonathon Brooks: Officially cleared for NFL debut
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Brooks (knee) is active for Sunday's game against the Chiefs, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.
Brooks had been listed as questionable heading into the weekend, but his availability for Sunday was never in any peril after head coach Dave Canales said Friday that he running back was ready to make his NFL debut. A 2024 second-round pick out of Texas, Brooks missed the Panthers' first 10 games of the season while completing his recovery from a torn ACL suffered last November. He had been activated from the non-football injury list Nov. 6 and has been a full participant in practices for weeks, so Brooks should be capable of handling the top backup role behind starting running back Chuba Hubbard. Before landing on injured reserve this week, Miles Sanders (ankle) had been serving as Carolina's No. 2 option in the backfield and averaged 5.9 touches per contest, but given the draft capital invested in him, Brooks could match or surpass that level of usage, especially if the Panthers want to lighten Hubbard's workload a bit.
