Jonathon Brooks is a player the Panthers were reluctant to use at the start of the year. He will actually be out of the running for the re-formed team in September. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, he will be moved to the Reserve/NFI list.
Brooks suffered a torn ACL in November. Since the Panthers have the second-round pick under contract until 2027, it was long expected that they would play it safe with the first running back of this draft. That leaves Chuba Hubbard and Miles Sanders as the Panthers’ lead backs to open the season, but expect to hear from Brooks later in the year.
In addition, Carolina is pushing free agency newcomer DJ Wonnum — who suffered a quadriceps tear on the same day Former Vikings teammate TJ Hockenson went down — to the reserve/PUP list, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Both designations will keep these Panthers out of action for at least four games. Hockenson is also out for at least four games, as Minnesota placed him on the reserve/PUP list Tuesday morning.
The Panthers traded for Brooks in Round 2, selecting him 20 spots before another running back went off the board. With Hubbard in a contract year and Sanders part of a disappointing 2023 free agency contingent for Carolina, Brooks is the clear long-term option in Carolina. For now, however, former Bijan Robinson The Texas reserve player will continue his rehab efforts.
Wonnum joined the Panthers on a two-year, $12.5 million contract, but received only $1.25 million guaranteed. He must move to the Panthers’ active roster to receive a portion of his 2024 compensation, with $2.13 million of that amount coming from per-game roster bonuses. A former Danielle Hunter Wonnum, who played as a sidekick in Minnesota, still enjoyed a good market despite the quad setback. Wonnum has two eight-sack seasons (2021, 2023) on his resume, taking advantage of Hunter’s 2021 pectoral muscle tear and 2023 starter Marcus Davenport’s recent ankle injury to emerge as a quality backup option.
Carolina also changes the third-year pass rusher Amare Barno to reserve/PUP list, according to Joe Person of The Athletic. The team will enter the season with a personnel shortage, putting even more pressure on the injury-prone (but often productive) Jadeveon Clowney to justify the two-year, $20 million deal he signed. The Panthers also signed former Jaguars first-round pick K’Lavon Chaisson, but the 2020 draftee hasn’t even come close to justifying that investment.
It would not be a surprise if GM Dan Morgan is active on the waiver list – particularly as an edge rusher – as the Panthers’ 2-15 performance in 2023 makes them the highest waiver priority. The waiver request process begins Wednesday at 11 a.m. CT.
