Canales expecting to see Jonathon Brooks soon
Running back Jonathon Brooks missed the entire 2025 season recovering from his second ACL tear (the first coming in his final college season), but Canales said he's encouraged by Brooks' rehab and looks forward to seeing him when the offseason program begins.
"Yep, I would think so," Canales replied when asked if Brooks would be ready for OTAs in May. "All the work that he's done up to this point, it's all but put him in a football scenario with other people around him."
The first two weeks of the offseason program (which will begin in April) feature conditioning on the fields without coaches, then progress to non-contact work.
The Panthers lost Rico Dowdle in free agency, but brought in veteran AJ Dillon to compete for a role behind starter Chuba Hubbard. Canales said he was open to Brooks having a contributing role.
"I'm open to whatever he wants to bring, and I know what he looked like prior to the injury," Canales said. "I know what that player looks like, so I have that in the back of my mind. And that's a vision that I hope he has too. And so that we can go and attack that. How do we get to a point where you can play your best, where you can be ready? And that'll be our goal.
"We'll make sure we do the right thing for Jonathon for sure. But I see the excitement. He's been in the building. He's been working out, he's been training with our guys. And I know that he's excited about this opportunity to compete."