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David Newton, ESPN Staff Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Teammate after teammate wished Jonathon Brooks well Monday as the rookie running back limped through Carolina Panthers‘ locker room.
The second-round pick out of Texas was 24 hours removed from re-tearing the ACL in his right knee that he injured in college 13 months ago. There was obvious disappointment from him and his teammates that his season was over.
Brooks didn’t stop to talk to reporters but told a member of the public relations department he would later in the week after fully digesting the season-ending noncontact injury he suffered late in the first quarter of Sunday’s 22-16 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.
“My heart is with him,” Carolina coach Dave Canales said. “I mean, just the amount of hard work that he put in to get back to this place, to get him to play. He’s heartbroken. I’m heartbroken. The whole group just feeling for him.”
Brooks will undergo surgery at some point to determine the severity of the tear. Canales was unsure whether the procedure will be this month or next.
“We’ll be there every step of the way with him, supporting him with this, through this journey,” said Canales, who in April called Brooks the best back in the 2024 draft class. “He knows how to do this. He’ll be able to attack it, and his focus is just going to shift in terms of what he’s competing for.”
Brooks spent 12 months rehabbing the initial injury suffered in a Nov. 11 Longhorns victory over TCU. He missed all of the preseason and the first nine games of his first NFL season before making his debut Nov. 24 in a 30-27 loss to the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
The recovery from his second surgery, based on league history, is likely to take longer. Much depends, however, on what doctors find, such as where the tear occurred and what the joint looks like.
Chuba Hubbard, who on Sunday became the first Carolina back to top 1,000 yards rushing in a season since Christian McCaffrey in 2019, predicted Brooks will come back “stronger than ever.”
“JB is my guy,” Hubbard said. “Just to see how hard he’s worked to get back and all the work he’s put in, obviously your mind wants to go to a bunch of different places.
“But you just turn to God in these types of moments. [Brooks] has resilience. He’ll fight back.”
“My heart is with him. I mean, just the amount of hard work that he put in to get back to this place, to get him to play. He’s heartbroken. I’m heartbroken.”
Dave Canales, on Jonathon Brooks
Hubbard was Carolina’s only healthy running back following Sunday’s setback that guaranteed the Panthers (3-10) their sixth straight season of 10 or more losses. Backup Miles Sanders is on injured reserve with an ankle injury.
Raheem Blackshear, used mostly on kick returns, suffered a chest injury against the Eagles that landed him in the hospital. He is listed as day-to-day.
That means Hubbard’s backup Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys could be Mike Boone, who is on the practice squad, or a player signed during the week.
Hubbard said he’s capable of handling the full load.
“No pressure at all,” he said.
Hubbard basically had been carrying the load since Brooks was activated. Brooks had two carries for 7 yards in his debut and six for 18 the following week in an overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
He injured the knee on his only carry against Philadelphia, resulting in a loss of 3 yards.
Still, losing Brooks this way stirred emotion across the roster.
“It’s sad,” tight end Tommy Tremble said. “You work your butt off [to get back]. Man, he’s a hell of a player, too. So, like, seeing stuff like that is sad.
“We’re all praying for him. We all know he’s got us to fall back on.”
