Brooks rushed the ball six times for 18 yards in Sunday's 26-23 overtime win against the Buccaneers. He added three receptions on three targets for 23 yards.
Brooks wasn't all that impressive with his rushing opportunity, but he saw his carry total jump from two to six in his second pro game. He was also much more effective as a receiver, highlighted by a shifty 18-yard catch and run late in the first quarter. While Brooks is unlikely to overtake Chuba Hubbard to lead the Carolina backfield, it appears clear that he will continue to carve out a role moving forward.
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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.
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Panthers' Jonathon Brooks: Tracking toward debut in Week 12
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Panthers head coach Dave Canales said that he "fully expects" Brooks (knee) to play Sunday against the Chiefs, Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer reports.
Brooks has been out all season while recovering from the torn ACL that he suffered last November during his final collegiate campaign at Texas, but he was a full participant in practices in Weeks 9 and 10 before Carolina went on bye for Week 11. Assuming he experiences no setbacks with his surgically repaired right knee during Week 12 prep, Brooks should be ready to handle a complementary role behind starter Chuba Hubbard. With Hubbard still expected to see the lion's share of the snaps and touches out of the backfield moving forward after inking a four-year, $33.2 million extension earlier this month, Brooks will likely struggle to earn enough volume to make for an appealing option in fantasy lineups.
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Panthers' Jonathon Brooks: Listed as questionable
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Brooks (knee) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Giants, with head coach Dave Canales suggesting Friday that the running back's active status will be a difficult decision, Joe Person of The Athletic reports.
Canales said Brooks, linebacker D.J. Wonnum (quadricep) and safety Jordan Fuller (hamstring) are "making it hard on us" in reference to their Week 10 availability. The latter two players remain on reserve lists, whereas Brooks was activated from the reserve/non-football injury list Wednesday to avoid the end of his 21-day practice window, which would have resulted in him missing the rest of the season. The rookie was a full practice participant all of last week and this week, which at least suggests he's likely to play after a Week 11 bye, if not this Sunday in Munich. The Panthers will release their inactive list about 90 minutes before the 9:30 a.m. ET kickoff.
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Panthers' Jonathon Brooks: Will be activated Wednesday
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Head coach Dave Canales said Brooks (knee) will be activated from the reserve/non-football injury list Wednesday, but he isn't certain whether or not the running back will play Sunday against the Giants in Munich, Field Yates of ESPN reports.
Dating back to last week, Brooks now has been listed as a full participant on four consecutive injury reports, but the Panthers continue to take a cautious approach with the rookie second-round pick as he gets back to full health from the torn ACL that he suffered in his right knee last Nov. 12 during his final collegiate season at Texas. If Brooks doesn't make his pro debut Sunday, Chuba Hubbard will continue to lead Carolina's backfield, while the team uses their Week 11 bye to get the former ready for its next game Nov. 24 versus the Chiefs.
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Panthers' Jonathon Brooks: Logs another full practice
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Brooks (knee) was a full practice participant Wednesday, Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer reports.
Brooks was a full practice participant throughout last week but wasn't activated from the reserve/non-football injury list ahead of the Panthers' 23-22 win over the Saints. Instead, head coach Dave Canales suggested after last Friday's practice that the rookie likely would make his NFL debut this coming Sunday against the Giants in Munich, per David Newton of ESPN.com. In order for that to come to fruition, the Panthers will need to move Brooks from the NFI list to the active roster this week.
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Panthers' Jonathon Brooks: Pro debut pushed back again
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Brooks (knee) has been downgraded to out for Sunday's game against the Saints, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.
Carolina has been taking an extra cautious route with the later stages of Brooks' recovery from the ACL tear that he sustained in his right knee last Nov. 12. His practice regimen during Week 7 prep was LP-DNP-LP, followed by three consecutive capped sessions last week and a trio of full practices this week. Even so, Brooks' potential pro debut will be delayed to next Sunday, Nov. 10 against the Giants. In the meantime, the Panthers will continue to roll with Chuba Hubbard and Miles Sanders out of the backfield.
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Panthers' Jonathon Brooks: Questionable, but unlikely for Week 9
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The Panthers list Brooks (knee) as questionable for Sunday's game against the Saints, but head coach Dave Canales said that the running back is unlikely to be activated from the reserve/non-football injury list prior to the Week 9 contest, David Newton of ESPN.com reports.
Brooks concluded his third week of practice with the Panthers on Friday after he had his 21-day evaluation window opened back on Oct. 16. He turned in a trio of full practices from Wednesday through Friday and seemingly came out of those workouts without any setbacks to his surgically repaired right knee, but the Panthers are leaning toward giving the rookie running back more recovery time before clearing him for his NFL debut. Per Newton, Canales believes that Brooks will be ready to play Week 10 against the Giants in Munich, but Carolina will first need to add the 21-year-old to its 53-man roster to make that a reality. If activated next week, Brooks is likely to be eased into action in a complementary role behind Chuba Hubbard, who has excelled as Carolina's lead back this season.
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Panthers' Jonathon Brooks: Turns in full practice
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Brooks (knee) was a full participant in Wednesday's practice.
Brooks remains on the reserve/non-football injury list, but it's encouraging to see him practicing in full after having been listed as a limited participant in the majority of his sessions of the last two weeks. Head coach Dave Canales said Wednesday that he's still undecided about whether Brooks will play Sunday versus the Saints, according to Steve Reed of the Associated Press. Thus far, the Panthers have opted for extra caution with Brooks, who is recovering from a torn ACL suffered last November during his final collegiate season at Texas. With Chuba Hubbard thriving as Carolina's lead back, the Panthers have the luxury of easing along Brooks, who could be headed for more of a complementary role once he's activated.
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Panthers' Jonathon Brooks: Not activated for Week 8
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Brooks (knee) was downgraded to out Saturday and will not be activated ahead of the Week 8 contest against the Broncos.
Brooks has practiced in limited fashion over the majority of the past two weeks, but the Panthers are being ultra cautious with the rookie second-round pick. Chuba Hubbard will once again get the majority of the work out of the backfield again, but the offense may struggle with Bryce Young back under center due to the injury to Andy Dalton (thumb).
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Panthers' Jonathon Brooks: Remains limited in practice
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Brooks (knee) practiced in a limited capacity Thursday, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.
Brooks sandwiched a pair of capped practices around a scheduled day off last Thursday, so his ability to put together back-to-back limited sessions to kick off this week is a good sign for the rookie second-round pick as he gets back into football shape. The Panthers may make a ruling on his status for a Week 8 matchup in Denver on Friday's injury report, but in order for him to be available for game action, the team will need to activate him from the reserve/non-football injury list.
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Panthers' Jonathon Brooks: Doesn't practice Thursday
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Brooks (knee) didn't practice Thursday, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.
Carolina opened Brooks' 21-day practice window Wednesday, and he eventually went down as a limited participant in his first official on-field work of the season. He's nearing the end of his recovery from the torn ACL that he suffered in his right knee last November, but it's perhaps not a surprise that the Panthers aren't pushing their luck with their second-round investment. The rookie running back thus doesn't seem to be a candidate for his NFL debut Sunday at Washington, something that may be confirmed as soon as the Panthers post their final Week 7 injury report Friday.
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Panthers' Jonathon Brooks: Likely out until at least Week 3
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Panthers coach Dave Canales said Saturday that Brooks (knee) won't play in the preseason and isn't expected to make his NFL debut until Week 3 or Week 4 of the regular season, Joe Person of The Athletic reports.
Brooks is still rehabbing the torn ACL he suffered last November, though the injury didn't stop the Panthers from picking him in the second round of April's NFL Draft. There was initially some optimism that the running back could be ready to practice at the start of training camp, but it's now apparent that he will be eased along cautiously and won't suit up for any preseason contests. It's possible that Brooks will begin the campaign on the PUP list, in which case he wouldn't be eligible to play until Week 5. With Brooks set to miss at least the first three games of the regular season, Chuba Hubbard's hold on the lead back role entering Week 1 may be cemented, though it's still possible that Miles Sanders gives him competition for those duties.
