Jonathon

Brooks

Brooks was activated from the reserve/NFI list this week and practiced in full during all three sessions. Still, head coach Dave Canales was non-committal on his status for Week 10. The good news is that fantasy managers will get to see Carolina’s inactives before every game other than Thursday’s kicks off. The bad news is that’s because the Panthers take on the Giants in Germany for a game kicking off bright and early stateside. Playing in his first game in nearly a year, Brooks will be eased back into the lineup this week if he plays at all. Fantasy managers wanting to get their full eight hours of sleep should just keep Brooks on the bench.

Today was the Panthers’ final day to bring him off the NFI list. He practiced in full last week and was a full-go today as well. All signs point toward the rookie making his NFL debut in Week 10 versus the Giants, though don’t have to make him active if they think he needs more time to recover. Fantasy managers should take a wait-and-see approach with this backfield. In his first game off the ACL tear he suffered in college, Brooks will almost certainly play a backup role to Chuba Hubbard. Brooks will spend a week in the RB5 ranks while Hubbard is no longer a locked-in RB2.

The Panthers have until Wednesday to activate Brooks from the PUP list or rule him out for the season. It’s mildly concerning that Canales won’t come out and say Brooks is playing in Week 10, especially after reports over the weekend said he was expected to return. The Panthers have pushed Brooks’ recovery about as far as it can go. We assume he’ll be officially activated on Wednesday barring an unexpected setback.

Brooks has been practicing for a few weeks and even got in three full practices before being ruled out for Week 9. Brooks suffered a torn ACL in his final season at Texas and began his rookie season on the PUP list. The Panthers have been taking his return to action extremely slowly and he will likely see just a few touches in his 2024 debut. Chuba Hubbard will remain the starter for Week 10, though his bell-cow status will be gone once Brooks is officially activated from PUP.

The Panthers will need to activate Brooks by next week if they hope to play him this season. The rookie running back was a full participant in practice this week, but it would appear the staff will continue to take a cautious approach with him at this time. His absence means fantasy managers will have at least one more week of Chuba Hubbard in a bell cow role before Week 10’s game against the Giants.

This is Brooks’ second consecutive day practicing in full. Dave Canales told reporters last week that Brooks had accomplished the goal they set in Week 8; practicing three days in a row, even in a limited capacity. Canales then explained that Brook will “go hard next week” and that he would “try to get [Brooks] ready” to play in Week 9. Brooks appears to be on track for a Week 9 debut though it is possible they keep him out one more week. He would be a shaky flex option, if active.

Brooks was limited in all three practices last week before being listed as doubtful. He remains on the PUP list as he works his way back from the torn ACL he suffered in his final season at Texas. The Athletic’s Joe Person previously speculated that Brooks could return in Week 9. Barring any setbacks, Brooks appears to be on track to make his debut on Sunday versus the Saints. Chuba Hubbard will presumably remain the starter, but Brooks will push him for touches out of the gate.

Brooks’ professional debut will now have to wait until Week 9 as he attempts to return from a torn ACL suffered in college. Fantasy managers have been waiting on pins and needles for Brooks to see NFL game action after Chuba Hubbard’s robust workload in his absence.

In an exchange with reporters, Dave Canales explained Brooks’ current week-to-week status and seemingly acknowledged Brooks could miss the 2024 season. Canales began by saying that Brooks met this week’s goal simply by practicing three days in a row. Canales then said he wants “to make sure that [Brooks is fully confident and ready to go, and I think that’s another week... We’ll go hard next week and try to get him ready.” Canales was then asked, “does the possibility exist that [Brooks] does not play this year?” to which Canales replied, “it could—it could be. But, again, we’re just [going to] take it week-to-week right now.”

Brooks continues to log limited practices ever since the Panthers opened his 21-day return window on October 14th. With Week 9 seeming more and more like his potential return date, we can likely count Brooks out for Week 8 against the Broncos. We’ll know for sure once Friday’s injury report is released.