Panthers' Jonathon Brooks: Set for NFL debut

Panthers head coach Dave Canales said Friday that Brooks (knee) "absolutely" will play Sunday against the Chiefs, despite being listed as questionable for the contest, Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer reports.

Canales said Brooks wouldn't be on a "pitch count" in the event of an injury to Chuba Hubbard, who is still viewed as "the starting point" of Carolina's backfield, per Sheena Quick of Fox Sports Radio 1340. Whether Brooks will have a larger role than what's typically been handled by Miles Sanders -- who will be inactive for the first time this season due to an ankle injury -- is less certain. Hubbard's impressive season means the Panthers don't have any incentive to put Brooks in a large role for his first football game since suffering an ACL tear in college at Texas last November.