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By Rowan Fisher-Shotton
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It felt like Jonathon Brooks was about to break out in his 2024 rookie season.
Despite rehabbing from a torn ACL suffered in his final college season at Texas, the Carolina Panthers took Brooks with the 46th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and many viewed him as a potential workhorse back at the NFL level. Then, after appearing in just three games, he tore the same ACL — an injury that forced him to miss all of last season while he recovered.
But now that he's fully healthy, he's already been turning heads at camp, and some fans thought they might get their first glimpse of the 23-year-old back in Thursday's Hall of Fame Game against the Arizona Cardinals. Unfortunately, that won't be the case. Head coach Dave Canales confirmed on Tuesday that Brooks will not play Thursday.
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With Brooks sidelined all of last season, the lead role was taken over by Rico Dowdle, who, in his lone season with the Panthers, finished with 1,076 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns on 236 carries, averaging 4.6 yards per carry, along with 297 receiving yards. Those numbers outpaced Chuba Hubbard, who rushed for 511 yards and one touchdown on 134 carries, averaging 3.8 yards per carry.
However, Carolina let Dowdle walk in free agency, and with Brooks now set to kick off the season healthy for the first time in his career, he feels primed to take over the backfield.
Keeping Brooks sidelined for the Hall of Fame Game is disappointing, but the bigger test will come once the regular season starts anyway. Coming off a serious injury, it's better to keep him healthy and avoid unnecessary risk at this stage.
The Panthers' next preseason game is against the Buffalo Bills on Saturday, Aug. 15, at Highmark Stadium — a game that could feature Brooks.
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