Panthers RB Jonathon Brooks ‘cleared to go’ from latest knee injury

Carolina Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks is ready to pound after missing all of the 2025 season due to a second ACL tear.

“I’ve been cleared by my surgeon,” Brooks said Tuesday via the Charlotte Observer. “(Panthers vice president of health and performance) Denny (Kellington) and the training staff and the coaches have a plan for me. And, you know, just going off what they tell me to do. And just taking it how it is, you know. Just getting better every day still — and yeah, I’m cleared to go.”

He added: “Obviously, it’s something that I have to work on, but yeah, I feel close to 100%. I’m getting there — still going with the plan they have for me.”

The former 2024 second-round pick has played just three games in his career due to ACL tears. The first occurred in 2023 while at Texas, which caused him to miss the first 10 games of his rookie season. In the third game of his career, he re-tore the ACL in his right knee. He’d go on to miss the entire 2025 season. In two years, he’s compiled nine rushes for 22 yards.

“To be quite honest, I don’t think any rep I had my rookie year was good,” Brooks said. “There’s a lot that I want to work on, and that was kind of the frustrating part of it, too. For the limited touches that I had, I knew what I had to do better. And, you know, the fact that I got hurt again, that’s what I feel like at first angered me so much, cause I knew I had so much to show and to fix and to kind of — I don’t have to prove to anyone — just prove to myself because I know my worth, I know what I can do. I not really worried about what others think.”

Once considered the future of the Panthers RB position, the injuries forced Carolina to pivot. However, the club didn’t replace Rico Dowdle‘s production next to Chuba Hubbard. The rest of the RB room includes 2025 fourth-rounder Trevor Etienne and former Packer AJ Dillon, who had dealt with a serious neck injury.

The makeup of the crew suggests that the 22-year-old Brooks will be given a shot to carve out a pivotal role in Dave Canales’ offense — if he can stay healthy.