Latest News Surrounding Panthers' Jonathon Brooks is Concerning

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Latest News Surrounding Panthers' Jonathon Brooks is Concerning

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Bryce Lazenby | Last updated Sep 8, 2026 8:02 AM ET

The Carolina Panthers are busy preparing for their Week 1 matchup with the Chicago Bears.

This first matchup will tell us a lot about the team. Was it a fluke that the Panthers made the playoffs last year, or can they win the NFC South once again? The Bears are a tough opponent and will be a nice litmus test.

If the Panthers are successful, they’ll likely need their running game to be efficient again. Rico Dowdle was a 1,000-yard rusher last season, but he left in free agency. The team is relying on Chuba Hubbard and Jonathon Brooks to lead the room, but things are starting to get concerning with Brooks.

Brooks only played in three games over his first two seasons. The running back has had some horrible injury luck, but he’s looked awesome this summer, and the hope is that these injury issues are behind him.

Unfortunately, Brooks has recently missed time, just as preparations for Week 1 get underway.

Brooks Missing Practice with ‘Soreness’

Jun 4, 2024; Charlotte, NC, USA; Rookie Carolina Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks (24) during OTAs. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY SportsJim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Brooks has now missed three straight practices due to “general soreness.”

In a normal situation, this wouldn’t be too concerning. However, with Brooks’ injury history, it’s worth keeping an eye on, and you can’t blame anybody for being nervous.

“We have to just keep taking it one day at a time,” Canales said on Monday. “He ran out there today. We’ll see (where he is) and compare it to what he looked like before and we’ll go from there.”

Brooks didn’t practice on Monday and instead did some side work with the trainers. Canales’ Monday comments seem much less rosy than his comments last week, when he was “very optimistic” that Brooks would play in Week 1.

The best-case scenario is that the team is just being overly cautious with Brooks due to his history. Brooks had plenty of action this summer, and coming off two years of almost no work, they could just be wanting to rest him until Week 1.

The good news is, the veteran Hubbard is ready to go for Week 1. Hubbard and Brooks are predicted to be in a timeshare situation, so losing either back would be a big problem.

It will be interesting to see how Brooks is listed on the initial injury report that comes out on Wednesday.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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