Oct 29, 2023; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers defensive tackle Derrick Brown (95) runs on to the field at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Panthers defensive stud named among best NFL players returning from injury

Originally posted on Carolina Panthers on SI
By Russell Baxter | Last updated Jun 3, 2025 2:30 PM ET

In his first four seasons in the National Football League, Carolina Panthers’ defensive tackle Derrick Brown missed a total of one game. It was a Week 15 clash with the Buffalo Bills at Orchard Park that resulted in a 31-14 loss. In both 2022 and 2023, the seventh overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft was a 17-game starter.

In ’23, he enjoyed a monster campaign as the former Auburn University star finished second on the team with 103 tackles, to go along with a pair of sacks, one interception, and six passes defensed—earning his first Pro Bowl invitation.

This past season, in Week 1 at the Superdome, Brown had totaled three tackles before going down with a knee injury that would cost him the remainder of the 2024 season. The Panthers wound up being a total disaster on the defensive side of the ball, allowing the most total yards and rushing yards in the league. Dave Canales’s club also gave up 534 points, the most by a team in a single season in NFL history.

Sam Robinson of Yardbarker put together a list in which he chose 32 “significant NFL players” that are on the comeback trail in 2025 after injuries spoiled this past season, and Brown was obviously included.

“Ejiro Evero’s run of rides on the coaching carousel despite being a defensive coordinator on bad team stopped this year, as the Panthers crashed into last place defensively in 2024. Carolina's minimal effort to replace Brian Burns indeed failed, and Jaycee Horn’s second-team All-Pro season did not move the needle for the unit.

“The group saw its front-seven centerpiece, however, go down in Week 1,” added Robinson. “Brown suffered a meniscus tear plays into his fifth season. The Panthers are aiming for the recently extended defensive tackle to return by Week 1 of the 2025 season.”

Brown has some new teammates up front in Tershawn Wharton, Bobby Brown III, and rookie Cam Jackson. There are also some other additions elsewhere in free agent pickups such as safety Tre’von Moehrig and linebacker Patrick Jones II, as well as rookie pass-rushers Nic Scourton and Princely Umanmielen. A healthy Derrick Brown could bring this new-look defense together.

This article first appeared on Carolina Panthers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: