In one of the most heart-breaking twists of the 2024 NFL season, Carolina Panthers’ rookie running back Jonathon Brooks suffered a season-ending knee injury just three games into his NFL career.
Panthers’ Announce Brooks’ Season-Ending Injury
On Monday, Panthers Head Coach Dave Canales announced that rookie running back Jonathon Brooks had suffered a torn ACL in his right knee, which he sustained during a non-contact play Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles. Canales also added that Brooks would undergo surgery in the coming days and miss the remainder of the Panthers’ 2024 campaign.
This injury is especially devastating, considering that the 21-year-old had just made his comeback to football eleven months after suffering the exact same injury while playing for the Texas Longhorns.
A Promising Start
Despite only seeing the pair appear in three contests together, the two-back system of Chuba Hubbard and Jonathon Brooks looked to be a promising one. Hubbard has quietly emerged as one of the league’s top ball carriers, and Brooks has proved in just a short amount of time that he had the ability to be the perfect running back to split carries with him.
https://twitter.com/qanthers/status/1863366238061134306?s=12
Though he had registered just nine carries prior to suffering his season-ending injury, Brooks had already begun displaying the physical tools and ball-carrying skills that had prompted the Panthers to make him the first running back selected in the 2024 NFL Draft.
What Brooks’ Injury Means For Carolina Moving Forward
Obviously, having your 2024 second-round selection be forced to miss the remainder of his rookie season after just having worked his way back from a long rehab is certainly a major setback. As mentioned earlier, Carolina had envisioned utilizing a two-back system in the future revolving around Brooks and Hubbard, and this injury puts those hopes in question for the time being.
As for now, the Panthers are in a difficult spot at the running back position. So far this season, Hubbard has been putting up career numbers, but moving forward, the team will need someone else to step up and fill in the spot behind him. Third-year ball-carrier Raheem Blackshear is on the roster but suffered a chest injury during the Panthers’ last contest, making his availability moving forward unclear. That said, unless the Panthers opt to re-integrate Miles Sanders back into the offense, they’ll likely need to call up Mike Boone from the practice squad to help split carries with Hubbard for the time being.
In any case, Jonathon Brooks’ season-ending knee injury is incredibly unfortunate for a young ball carrier who looked to have a promising remaining portion of his rookie season.
Leave a comment