Joy, relief, redemption: Why Jonathon Brooks looked to the sky after his Panthers TD
At long last, Jonathon Brooks stomped into the end zone.
Or did he glide? Tiptoe?
That part of his 1-yard-run — the touchdown run that punctuated the single first-team offensive score all preseason — evaporated the moment it happened. Upon film review, it was a rush to the left; a gap widened thanks to the brilliance of Rasheed Walker and Damien Lewis; he moseyed in. But what came after is what was memorable: The 2024 second-round pick marched to the end line, pointed at his forearm, looked to the sky and flashed a heart with his hands.
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In one play, there was relief, there was redemption, and there was a swirl of emotion.
“I know it doesn’t really count for the books,” Brooks told reporters after the Panthers’ 34-17 win on Friday night at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville. “But for me, it’s everything.”
Each one — relief, redemption, emotion — matters to Brooks’ story, to Brooks’ Friday night.
The relief came after another night in which he started and played a football game without his body breaking down. That might not go away for a while. Brooks, after all, has pretty much missed 2.5 years of football after suffering ACL tears in the same knee in back-to-back years — in 2023 and 2024. He missed all of 2025 because of it. His football endurance might still be coming along; his football instincts might still be creeping back; his contact-balance is still a skill that needs to be strengthened after years of atrophy. But he finished off a drive Friday night; that’s a relief.
The redemption came thanks to earlier that drive, when Brooks missed his assignment on a pass protection that forced starting quarterback Bryce Young into his only incompletion on the evening. He admitted to it postgame, adding, “You just gotta bounce back, throw it in the past and be better for the next time.” He was, for what it’s worth — he picked up a blitz for Young that helped the Panthers extend a drive that led to a score.
And then the emotion flushed in thereafter. The joy. The sadness. The weird mix knowing that when he pointed to the tattoo on his forearm — which holds the date his father, Skip, died, March 28, 2022 — he was reminded of someone who couldn’t cheer for him but who he believes is always watching over him.
And Skip, who died after complications from a surgery, was always there. Even as he drove a truck, hauling lumber and other materials for miles and miles, he was always a football coach, always a supporter for Brooks.
“It’s something that me and my father have talked about since I was younger,” Brooks said. He added of the celebration, specifically, “I want him to live through me. Just the fact that he can’t be here, and I can really feel like I can see him smiling every time I score, it’s just amazing. When he was here, he was my biggest fan. Just being able to give him that shine right there, it feels amazing.”
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Brooks finished with five carries for 18 yards and a touchdown. His longest rush was 11 yards. Again, the touchdown won’t count for the record books because it was a preseason game; his first official touchdown as an NFL player is still out there for him. And yes, the score came against a second-team Jaguars defense.
But it was his story that rung on in the locker room thereafter much more than his stat line. That will one day change — after all the “first” milestones are complete, once the consequential football arrives, and he’s held up to the same scrutiny he experienced as a Texas Longhorn and before that at his hometown high school in Hallettsville, Texas, where he compiled a high school mixtape of legend.
Young, his quarterback and friend, could feel the gravity of the moment, he said.
“I was super happy for him,” Young said. “The amount of work that he’s put in since he’s been in, that I’ve been able to witness first hand, you can’t even describe. And also the attitude that he’s had while going through all the stuff he’s had to, he’s always been the first guy to celebrate everyone else’s success. … Very not surprised. Special guy, special player.”
Head coach Dave Canales could, too. Last week, in Buffalo, he said he himself was emotional talking to Brooks prior to the game. Tonight was similar. It also wasn’t lost on the coach that Brooks has been getting a lot of opportunities this preseason — a silver lining to the difficult news that starting running back Chuba Hubbard has missed some time because of a hamstring injury.
“All the special stuff that he brings happens when he’s downfield, when he can break tackles, when he can find his legs again,” Canales said of Brooks. “To see him running aggressively was so important for me. And I’m glad he’s had these opportunities.”
The way Brooks stomped, or glided, or moseyed into the end zone will be forgotten.
The record books won’t even acknowledge that he got there.
But those who saw it Friday night will remember — including Brooks’ father, who had a seat in the sky.
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This story was originally published August 22, 2026 at 5:30 AM.
