Many experts and fans expected Jonathon Brooks to be the long-term starter for the Carolina Panthers at the running back position when they drafted him with the No. 46 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
However, Brooks was recovering from a torn ACL he had suffered in college when the Panthers drafted him, and he re-tore the same ACL shortly after returning to the field in 2024.
On May 8, the Panthers announced even more bad news.
Adam Schefter Provides Injury Update on Jonathon Brooks
“Panthers placed RB Jonathon Brooks on the physically unable to perform list, meaning he now will be out for the 2025 season,” said ESPN senior NFL insider Adam Schefter.
Panthers placed RB Jonathon Brooks on the physically unable to perform list, meaning he now will be out for the 2025 season.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter)
The news is disappointing for Brooks and the Panthers, as the talented young running back has had a rough start to his NFL career.
Brooks played in only three games in 2024 before re-tearing his ACL, registering only nine carries for 22 yards on the ground, and three receptions for 23 yards as a receiver.
In his final season at Texas in 2023, Brooks carried the ball 187 times for 1,139 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also added 25 receptions for 286 yards and a touchdown through the air.
The Panthers finished 5-12 in 2024, finishing third in the NFC South. Losing a young piece of their offense for the entire year before the season begins is far from ideal.
In Brooks’ absence, Chuba Hubbard, Rico Dowdle, and Trevor Etienne will handle the backfield duties.
Hubbard appears to have secured the starting job for the foreseeable future in Carolina, after signing a four-year contract extension worth $33.2 million in November. In 2024, Hubbard ran for 1,195 yards and 10 touchdowns on 250 carries, adding 43 catches for 171 yards and a touchdown through the air.
Dowdle was signed as a free agent at the start of the 2025 offseason and figures to compete with Etienne, a fourth-round pick by Carolina, for work behind Hubbard.
The Panthers’ offense ran through Hubbard last season, and he expects to be an integral piece again in 2025. In 2024, Carolina’s offense finished No. 24 in PFSN’s Offense+ Rankings, with a D+ score (68.0).
Quarterback Bryce Young will rely heavily on Hubbard, Adam Thielen, Xavier Legette, and first-round draft pick Tetairoa McMillan as his top weapons, as they look to improve on that side of the ball in the second year under head coach Dave Canales in 2025.
How the injury impacts Brooks on the field when he returns remains to be seen. In the meantime, the Panthers will be hoping for a speedy recovery and will look to make it by without him for the 2025 season.
