The Carolina Panthers’ training camp has already been hit with a string of ugly injuries, but the biggest buzz coming out of it has nothing to do with the guys going down. It’s Jonathon Brooks.
Carolina opened camp with Taylor Moton landing on the NFI list because of blood clots, and Jaycee Horn also had to get stitches after cutting his foot. Then came the wave of players getting carted off: Nic Scourton is out for the season with a torn ACL, Mitchell Evans rolled his ankle and is expected back soon, and Chris Brazzell II suffered a torn LCL that will end his season.
Even with all that, there’s been a different kind of headline building around the Panthers, and it starts with Bryce Young. He’s reportedly putting together one of his best training camps against the team’s vaunted new-look defense. But the louder conversation is about Brooks, and the early camp hype around him is real enough that it’s easy to buy into.
There’s obvious caution here. Brooks tore the same ACL twice in a 13-month span, and that’s not something anyone should brush off. He had only just gotten past the first injury when the second one hit, and that reality hangs over every sharp cut he makes, especially on Bank of America’s turf field.
Still, the football part of the story is hard to ignore. Brooks was a highly regarded college back, putting up numbers comparable to Ashton Jeanty, who went in the top 10 and is expected to become one of the NFL’s best running backs.
Back in 2024, Brooks had first-round projection, and the only reason he slid to the second round was the ACL injury. Without that, he would have been gone much earlier.
What’s happening now is the next step: he’s finally ready to play, and by all accounts he looks like it. Head coach Dave Canales said he’s seeing zero hesitation from Brooks. The real test will come once actual NFL contact starts flying, but so far Brooks has looked willing to do everything on that knee, which is a strong sign.
He’s also flashed in the passing game, which could be a new layer to his profile. And inside the building, the belief is growing that Brooks can reshape Carolina’s run game and even challenge Chuba Hubbard for the RB1 job.
When the coaches who see him every day are saying that much, it’s hard not to pay attention.
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For a team trying to settle its WR3 picture, the timing matters as much as the injury itself. Xavier Legette, JaSeem Reed and John Metchie are among the players who can benefit from the vacancy, and the next stretch of camp and roster decisions should tell the story of who has the inside track to stick and who can emerge as a real part of the offense. [Read more 🡒]