Panthers' Jonathon Brooks to Miss 2025 NFL Season amid Knee Injury Rehab

Carolina Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks will miss his second NFL season as he recovers from a torn ACL.

The Panthers announced Thursday that they placed Brooks on the physically unable to perform list, which ends his 2025 campaign before it started. 

"The running back tore his ACL during Week 14 last season," the announcement read. "By placing the second year back on PUP now, he will be out for the 2025 season. The move allows him time to get healthy after his second such tear in as many years."

Carolina selected Brooks with a second-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft, but injuries limited him to only three games and nine carries as a rookie.

He suffered a torn ACL in a December contest against the Philadelphia Eagles, which marked his second ACL injury in 13 months.

"My heart is with him," Panthers head coach Dave Canales told reporters at the time. "He's heartbroken, I'm heartbroken. The whole group [is] just feeling for him. We'll be here every step of the way with him, supporting him through this journey. He knows how to do this. He'll be able to attack it, and his focus is just going to shift in terms of what he's competing for."

Brooks was a dominant running back in his final season at Texas. He finished with 187 carries for 1,139 yards and 10 touchdowns to go with 25 catches for 286 yards and one score as a receiver in 2023.

Brooks was the first running back taken in the 2024 draft. The Panthers presumably saw him as a foundational cornerstone as they built their offense around quarterback Bryce Young, the No. 1 overall pick in 2023.

However, he is now facing yet another long rehab process before he can potentially make his impact in the NFL.

Carolina seemingly knew this was coming when it selected Georgia running back Trevor Etienne in the fourth round of the 2025 draft. The Panthers also signed Rico Dowdle this offseason after he ran for 1,079 yards and two touchdowns for the Dallas Cowboys in 2024.

The Panthers now have a running back room of Chuba Hubbard, Dowdle and Etienne as they begin preparations for the 2025 campaign.