NFL insider points to serious concern over Panthers' embattled second-round pick

Running backs may be back in demand, but the Panthers still learned a harsh lesson with Jonathon Brooks.

Dec 8, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Carolina Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks (24) tries to get off the field after being injured against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

With only one exception, the Carolina Panthers have spent all of their free agency money on addressing their defense. It could have been all of it, if not for a couple of unfortunate injuries. With Miles Sanders getting released earlier this week for cap savings, the Panthers had to add another body to the backield, so they signed Rico Dawdle, formerly of the Dallas Cowboys. Ironically, Sanders has since replaced Dowdle for Dallas.

In any case, Dawdle was one of the top-five available upgrades over Sanders on the market, but signing him wouldn't have been necessary if not for the ACL tear suffered by Jonathon Brooks in December. That was his second ACL tear in 13 months, which raises serious questions about his development and future in the NFL.

It's not just a hypothetical, either. According to Charles Robinson at Yahoo Sports, there's "a lot of concern" about Brooks.

Yahoo Sports on Jonathon Brooks return

"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."

Jun 4, 2024; Charlotte, NC, USA; Rookie Carolina Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks (24) during OTAs. / Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

There's a pretty painful lesson for first-year general manager Dan Morgan, whose top-three running backs were all on the sidelines by the end of the season. Namely, this is a very high-injury rate position, and the Panthers have to be careful about how they invest their resources at this spot.

Even though running backs are becoming more important as NFL defenses shift to more conservative coverages every year, it doesn't change the fact that they have a high injury rate, made all the higher by the extra burdens that they're carrying these days.

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