Jonathon Brooks suffers another torn ACL - Darin Gantt,Panthers.com
Another bad break for the talented running back.
CHARLOTTE — Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks’ rookie season is over after three games.
Panthers head coach Dave Canales said that Brooks tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in Sunday’s loss to the Eagles, and will be out for the rest of the season.
Brooks returned from a torn right ACL after the Panthers’ bye week and had nine carries for 22 yards and three catches for 23 yards. He started in the backfield alongside Chuba Hubbard for the first time, a glimpse of the potential they saw for the offense.
Now, that will have to wait.
Brooks suffered the initial injury at Texas on Nov. 11, 2023. Before then, he stacked up 1,139 yards and 10 touchdowns in his final college season. The Panthers took him in the second round of last year’s draft (46th overall).
Xavier Legette’s drop dooms Panthers’ late upset push against Eagles - Chris Bumbaca, USA Today
It came down to a couple of plays in Carolina’s loss to the Eagles.
Bryce Young had the look he wanted. With 54 seconds to go, trailing by six and with no timeouts in his pocket against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Carolina Panthers quarterback saw the opposing secondary presenting a coverage that would allow Xavier Legette to sneak behind the defense on the post route head coach Dave Canales had dialed up.
Young took the second-and-4 snap and from the Philadelphia 32-yard line. As the pocket formed around him, he confidently stepped up into the middle as Legette made his break toward the end zone. Young fired in his direction, and everything about the play had the makings of a touchdown that would tie the game at 22 prior to an extra point. The Panthers were on the cusp of knocking off arguably the NFL’s hottest team in the Eagles, who entered with an eight-game winning streak.
But the officials never signaled touchdown. Replay made it clear what they saw on the field; Legette, the 32nd overall pick in the draft out of South Carolina, never secured the ball before the pigskin hit the turf, and the ground clearly caused the ball to move.
Incomplete. The Panthers had two more chances to gain 4 yards and secure a new set of downs. No dice.
“(Expletive), I thought I caught that (expletive),” Legette told reporters after the game.
Legette said he didn’t know the ball hit the ground until a replay was shown on the Lincoln Financial Field jumbotron.
Asked if he felt like he had control before the ball hit the ground he said: “Hell yeah.”
Inside of two minutes, and without any timeouts, Canales had no way to ask for an official review.
“I thought it would have been the protocol,” Canales said of a potential review. “The ball moved around a little bit … the officials saw it, we saw it on the sideline, it was close. Gonna have to look at it again.”
Canales said that the mishap was “absolutely” a play he expects Legette to make.
Suddenly, wide receiver is a pressing need for the Carolina Panthers in 2025 - Zach Roberts, Sports Illustrated
Despite taking a wide receiver in the first round last year, Carolina still needs to add depth.
When Bryce Young came back to the lineup and started playing well, it looked like the Carolina Panthers had found a winning formula. Run the ball a lot, and allow Young to make plays when needed for his wide receivers. It worked for a little while until the receivers came back down to earth. Then, it looked like they could afford to overlook the position to fully retool the defense. Now, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Wide receiver rising upCarolina Panthers’ list of needs
For a moment, it looked like the combination of Xavier Legette, Adam Thielen, and Jalen Coker was going to be enough for the Carolina Panthers. They could add on to that group, but they were enough that the front office could focus heavily on defense.
That’s no longer the case. Coker has been hurt, so admittedly, it is harder to get a true look at what this offense would like with Young at the peak of his powers throwing to all three. However, the absence of Coker has made two things clear.
First, Thielen cannot be the top wide receiver. He’s talented enough to suffice, but he’s old and getting older. Never was that more evident than when he was totally gassed and had to sub out on the Panthers’ failed game-winning drive Sunday. He’ll be even older next year, so the Panthers need to take some of the load off him and remember that he won’t be around forever.
Second, Legette is not a true number one. In fact, he might not be a useful player at all. He has struggled mightily with drops this year. He did suffer a hand injury, but the drops were an issue before then. He can get better, but the Panthers shouldn’t expect that. Rather, they need to be proactive and address it quickly.
Maybe it means spending a top-four selection on Travis Hunter (if the Panthers should be so lucky) or Tetairo McMillan. Maybe it means signing Tee Higgins or Chris Godwin. Maybe an unforeseen trade for someone else is in the cards. Something has to be.