Carolina Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks will miss the 2025 NFL season after being placed on the physically unable to perform list as he continues to recover from a torn ACL in his right knee, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Thursday.
Brooks suffered the injury during a Dec. 8 game against the Philadelphia Eagles. The 21-year-old missed the start of his rookie season after tearing the ACL in his right knee during his final season in college. He fell to Panthers in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft as a result of that injury.
After sitting out the first 10 games of the 2024 NFL season, Brooks made his season debut against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 12. He played in just three games before suffering another ACL tear in his right knee.
Brooks finished his rookie season with just nine carries for 22 yards. He also caught three passes for 23 receiving yards.
In March, Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson reported the Panthers had concerns about Brooks entering this offseason.
The Panthers are signing running back Rico Dowdle to a one-year deal, strongly pointing to a plan that appears to be leaning into sitting Brooks for the entirety of the 2025 season. To err on the side of caution and put together a plan over the next 18 months offers Brooks a chance to enter training camp in 2026 both completely healthy and as confident as possible about his right knee.
Even taking that approach, a league source indicated there’s a lot of concern about Brooks’ development in all of this. While last year’s 46th overall draft pick is extremely young (he won’t turn 22 until July), he will have played very little high-level football by the time he hits the field for the Panthers again. Brooks had only 54 touches rushing and receiving his first two seasons as a backup for the Texas Longhorns, then another 212 his junior year, before eventually tearing the ACL in his right knee and entering the draft. That was followed by only 12 touches as a rookie for the Panthers before tearing the ACL again.
After essentially two lost seasons in the NFL, Brooks will look to show off the skills that got him drafted in 2026. That could prove difficult after two major surgeries on his right knee.
To complicate matters, Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard experienced a breakout season in 2024, rushing for a career-high 1,195 yards and scoring 10 touchdowns. Hubbard was rewarded for that performance with a four-year, $33.2 million extension.
With Hubbard established as the team’s starter, the Panthers made multiple moves to shore up their running back depth chart. Rico Dowdle was brought in on a one-year deal after rushing for over 1,000 yards last season. The team also selected Georgia running back Trevor Etienne in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
With 2025 out of the question, Brooks will focus on making a full recovery in time for the 2026 NFL season. Many considered Brooks the best running back available in the 2024 NFL Draft. If he still displays those skills post-injury, Brooks is still young enough to make an impact once he gets back on the field.
