Carolina Panthers’ Jonathon Brooks says he’s ‘ready’; one key starter is out
Jonathon Brooks didn’t practice earlier this week and was only a “limited participant” during Wednesday’s practice with a groin injury.
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And for someone with such an injury history, that’s big news.
But the Carolina Panthers running back wants to make it clear that he’s not frustrated that such an ailment has popped up after a mostly healthy summer — and that he’s OK, and ready.
“Not frustrating because I believe wholeheartedly that I’m living in God’s plan,” Brooks told reporters Wednesday. “Ultimately, I practiced today. I’m ready for Week 1. And the idea of me letting a small injury like this affecting how I think about Week 1, or my progress throughout camp, would be a disservice to myself and God.”
Also on the injury report Wednesday was OLB Pat Jones (back, did not participate) and defensive lineman Bobby Brown (back, limited participation). Jones is week-to-week and will not play in the season-opener in Bank of America Stadium at 1 p.m. Sunday. (More on this later.)
Brooks discussed his physical readiness a few minutes after head coach Dave Canales said that he’s “very confident” the second-round pick from the 2024 draft will play. The coach, who has been very cautious ramping up players with injuries all summer, told reporters that Brooks “went through the full individual” portion of practice and then took “selective reps throughout the practice.”
“It wouldn’t have been his normal load of a practice, but he practiced the whole day,” Canales said.
Brooks has played nine quarters of football since being drafted in 2024. He missed almost all of the 2024 season, then once finally healed from the ACL tear he sustained in college, he sustained the same tear on the same knee. That put him out of commission for all of 2025.
Brooks has gotten a healthy dose of the rushing responsibilities this summer though, particularly because starting running back Chuba Hubbard missed time dealing with a hamstring injury. Hubbard, a team captain, is expected to start.
Still, Brooks understands until he can string together several starts and explosive plays, fans will wonder about his checkered injury past.
He doesn’t mind it much, he said.
Last week, he replied to a fan’s tweet about Brooks not practicing — responding to a negative comment with, “God bless you” punctuated with a laughing-crying emoji.
“I think a lot of people get it misconstrued,” Brooks said. “It’s not like I went out there and asked to get injured twice. It’s not like my injuries were self-inflicted. It is what it is. I just laugh at it. I don’t have to prove anything to anyone. I just sometimes like to show my faith and try to make it positive.”
Brooks added: “I obviously am definitely nervous. I think I’ll be nervous my whole life when it comes to football. That stuff goes away after the first play.”
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#Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks is not frustrated by the fact he was limited in practice today with a groin injury after such a healthy, productive summer.
He’s at peace, in a really good place. pic.twitter.com/xLNvTSD6kP
The fact that Brooks is playing is good news for the Panthers and deservedly commands a lot of attention.
But there’s an absence to another key player that could loom large on Sunday — that of outside linebacker Pat Jones.
Jones suffered a back injury that Canales said was “building over time” this summer. He’s “week-to-week,” Canales said, and will miss the opener against the Bears. Jones only played four games last season — and started all four — before suffering a back injury that ended his year. Canales said that the injury publicized Wednesday is unrelated to last year’s ailment.
Canales said that second-year pass rusher Princely Umanmielen and last year’s free-agent signing Trevis Gipson will start in Jones’ stead. Depth along the pass-rushing unit is difficult for the Panthers to come across at the moment — particularly after losing second-year budding star Nic Scourton to an ACL tear this summer. Scourton was the front-runner to start.
Umanmielen told The Charlotte Observer that he’s ready for Sunday and that his preparation isn’t any different whether he’s a starter or not.
“Obviously I’m gonna have to step up in a bigger role than I would have if he was still playing,” Umanmielen said of Jones. “But I would say probably around mid-last season, I’ve been preparing like a starter, you know what I’m saying?
“So ever since then, through OTAs, throughout the offseason, I’ve prepared like I was the starter. I’ve worked like it. I’ve slept like it. Done everything throughout my day-in and day-out routine to be a starter in this league. … I’m just ready to go right now.”
Jones’ absence won’t just impact the Panthers’ pass rush. Jones is an effective run-stopper, and his two potential replacements are unproven in that realm. There are ways to account for that; defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero can experiment with personnel packages; he can line up safety Tre Moehrig anywhere and everywhere, which he’ll probably do anyway.
“It’s unfortunate to have a guy out this week like Pat: great player, great character, gonna put in tremendous work and effort,” Moehrig told The Observer. “But you know, I think it’s always the next man up mentality.”
He added: “We both came in free agency together, and I kind of knew Pat before coming to the Panthers. So yeah, it definitely sucks, man, not having him out there. Because I know what he means to this team.”
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