One of the top prospects from the 2024 NFL Draft is almost set to make his regular-season debut. Carolina Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks, who has been out for the entire season rehabbing from a torn ACL suffered late in his final collegiate season at Texas, is on the verge of returning to the lineup, according to Panthers head coach Dave Canales.
“I fully expect JB to make his debut this week against the Chiefs,” Canales said, via the Charlotte Observer. “Again, we have some practices to go through to make sure that we’re ready to go there.”
The Panthers have held Brooks out even after he returned from the non-football injury list, including keeping him on the bench for the Week 10 game against the New York Giants in Germany. At the moment, there is no specific pitch count to which the Panthers will hold Brooks in his first game back.
“We’ll have a game plan for how to play him,” Canales said. “But we’re not really looking for a specific number. That’s the whole thing, right? When you get a guy ready to play on Sunday, the confidence should be that he can go out and just play a normal football game. And so that’s what we want to make sure happens.”
Brooks should be expected to split reps with — and likely operate behind — Chuba Hubbard, who has been the team’s lead back throughout this season. Hubbard, who recently signed a four-year, $33.2 million contract extension, has totaled 818 yards and six touchdowns on his 181 carries this season, averaging a career-best 5.1 yards per rush. He’s added 124 yards on his 30 catches, and has played well ahead of Miles Sanders while taking 71% of the Panthers’ offensive snaps to date.
As for Brooks, he’s excited to get back into the mix.
“Obviously the competitive spirit in me is anxious to get out there and play football again,” Brooks said. “Just to be able to compete with my team and just go out there and play the game I love and do the things I know how to do.”
Brooks was considered the top running back in his draft class, and is coming off a season wherein he ran 187 times for 1,139 yards and 10 touchdowns in 11 games. He had previously played behind Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson before being elevated to the starting role last year. The Panthers traded up in the second round to grab him at No. 46 overall, and have been waiting ever since to get him back into game action. He’ll have a tough test in his first-ever game, as the Chiefs have been one of the league’s top defenses this season.