Panthers have a plan for Jonathon Brooks vs. Chiefs and have ‘decisions to make’ elsewhere
At long last, the NFL debut of Jonathon Brooks is upon us.
Better yet? The Carolina Panthers have a plan for how to use him.
Panthers head coach Dave Canales told reporters on Monday that he “fully expects” the second-round draft pick to play his first game in the NFL on Sunday, when the Panthers welcome the Kansas City Chiefs to Bank of America Stadium. This is big news for the Panthers, who have been awaiting Brooks’ debut all year — after an ACL tear at the end of his last season in Texas delayed his pro career.
“I fully expect JB to make his debut this week against the Chiefs,” Canales said. “Again, we have some practices to go through to make sure that we’re ready to go there.”
Not only is it big news for Brooks. It’s also a big deal for the team — as the Panthers got a lot slimmer at the running back position just over a week ago, after second-string running back Miles Sanders had to be carted off the field in Germany with an ankle injury. Canales said Sanders is week-to-week.
Does Sanders’ absence suggest Brooks might shoulder a bunch of responsibility out of the gate? Maybe. Sanders has been a solid backup in 2024 to Chuba Hubbard, the star running back who ran so well through the first nine weeks that he earned a contract extension by Week 10.
According to Canales, there will be no snap-count for Brooks — that was never part of his plan.
“We’ll have a game plan for how to play him,” Canales said. “But we’re not really looking for a specific number. That’s the whole thing, right? When you get a guy ready to play on Sunday, the confidence should be that he can go out and just play a normal football game. And so that’s what we want to make sure happens.
“It was the same thing with DJ Wonnum last week. Jordan Fuller. Are these guys ready to play a full game? It’s not like practice where we can really control and manage the pitch count, if you will, but we feel good about his progress. And just looking forward to a great week from him.”
Brooks said he doesn’t know how he’ll feel once he at long last makes his NFL debut. He said it was “the coaches’ decision” for why he didn’t play vs. the Giants two weeks ago despite being activated to play, adding that he has full “trust in whatever decision” they make.
“Obviously the competitive spirit in me is anxious to get out there and play football again,” Brooks said. “Just to be able to compete with my team and just go out there and play the game I love and do the things I know how to do.”
Who else might be taking the field? And who isn’t?
Brooks isn’t the only one who made significant news on Monday. The Panthers had a lengthy list of roster moves to report:
▪ Caleb Farley, the 2021 first-round cornerback who the Panthers signed to their practice squad a few weeks ago, got promoted to the active roster on Monday. He had been elevated the past three weeks — meaning that he was out of “standard elevations” for the season and could only play for the Panthers if he was on the active roster, per league rules. His stats through three contests: five tackles in 29 defensive snaps.
▪ The Panthers placed tight end Ian Thomas on injured reserve with a calf injury. He suffered it during the win in Germany and didn’t finish the game. Placing him on the injured reserve list means he’ll miss the next four weeks of the season. This is his second time on IR; he was placed on the list before the team’s contest against the Saints in Week 1.
▪ Amare Barno also made his first practice appearance since being placed on the physically unable to perform list before training camp. He tore his ACL last year against the Packers on Christmas Eve. Canales said Barno closing in on his return is “exciting” for the defense — as the pass rusher could continue to beef up a defense that is beginning to find its footing. His official 21-day practice window has been opened, meaning the team will have to activate him in 21 days or he’ll be lost for the year, per NFL roster rules.
▪ They signed defensive tackle Sam Roberts to the practice squad.
Will Adam Thielen play? Ickey Ekwonu?
Canales indicated that he, like Brooks, expects veteran receiver Adam Thielen to return to game action this week against the Chiefs. He was activated to the 53-man roster last week during the team’s bye week after suffering a hamstring injury in Week 3.
Said Thielen on his prospects of returning: “Obviously, a lot of days between now and the game, but encouraged with how today went. But still have to gain some ground to feel really good about playing on Sunday. But definitely encouraged, took full advantage of the bye week, and at least excited to be back out there, moving around and being with my teammates.”
Ickey Ekwonu, too, has missed time due to injury but could be back against the Chiefs. The left tackle missed the last two weeks with an ankle injury but never was placed on IR — indicating that his return was sooner rather than later.
Canales also said that Ekwonu’s expected return indicates that there’s a “decision to make” now along the offensive line. Brady Christensen has held down the team’s left side while Ekwonu’s been out — not long after Christensen was tapped to replace starting center Austin Corbett with aplomb after the team’s loss at Chicago in Week 5.
“We got a decision to make there with Brady (Christensen) and Cade (Mays), and Cade has played two solid games...” Canales said, when asked about the center position. “So I can’t say enough good things about Brady and what he did for us, going to center and popping out to left tackle, which is really rare and really a valuable player for us. So that’s another decision we have to make.”
Bryce Young will start again
Canales also said Monday that Bryce Young will be the starter for the Panthers in Week 12 against the Kansas City Chiefs. This will mark Young’s fourth-straight start since being benched for Andy Dalton after Week 2. The second-year quarterback is coming off back-to-back wins for the first time in his NFL career.
Canales said that it will continue to be a week-to-week decision on who will start at QB.
“Again, this is the continued progress of Bryce looking more and more confident in Germany,” Canales said. “Just felt a real confidence and an aggressive to his play, and all those things, and of course the end result: winning. So he continues to do things that put us in a position to put him back out there. And we’ll continue to build on that.”
Quick hits
▪ Eddy Piñeiro woke up Sunday morning as the NFL’s all-time most accurate kicker in terms of field goal percentage, according to pro-football-reference.com. Carolina’s steady specialist is now at 89.381%, just beating out Justin Tucker — who dropped to 89.348% after missing two first-quarter field goals on Sunday.
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▪ Jaycee Horn said the defense — after battling through injury and lopsided losses to begin the season — has started to find its personality. That’s good news as the Panthers charge headlong into the second half of its season (and are coming off of back-to-back wins where the defense loomed large).
Horn’s full quote: “I feel like on our best days, we’re just a tough, physical defense. Running around, hitting, having fun, talking (trash). That’s when it’s most fun for me, and that makes football fun when that’s the personality of the defense. ... I feel like we’ve been doing that the past couple weeks. We just gotta keep it going.”
This story was originally published November 18, 2024 at 2:48 PM.
