Jonathon Brooks, Adam Thielen take part in Panthers’ padded practice with center solidified
Fog clouded the high-rise buildings in uptown Charlotte on Wednesday, as the Carolina Panthers returned to the practice fields outside of Bank of America Stadium. With heavy rain hitting the area in the morning, the soggy conditions in the afternoon welcomed the team — donning satin black matted helmets and pads — back to work.
Rookie running back Jonathon Brooks, who is poised to make his NFL debut on Sunday at home against the Kansas City Chiefs, took hand-offs and went through the full routine to start the week of practice — even as the team took part in a contact workout.
“It’s kind of just like anything that you do in practice,” Brooks said. “It just builds your confidence, it gets you more used to (the contact). It gets you more confident and adapted to it. I think it’s just really good for me that we’re having full-padded practice right now.”
Latest injury updates on Jonathon Brooks, Adam Thielen
With Miles Sanders sidelined with a lower-leg injury, Brooks is expected to take on a rotational role behind starter Chuba Hubbard, as the Panthers try to upset the defending two-time Super Bowl champions on their home turf.
Panthers head coach Dave Canales said he was pleased with what he saw from Brooks, who has not played in a game since he was still a member of the Texas Longhorns last winter.
“Jonathon Brooks put together another great day,” Canales said. “Really high hopes for him playing this Sunday.”
Brooks, who has been cleared to return from ACL surgery, won’t have a snap-count limit in his debut. But it is likely that Hubbard will continue to anchor the offense on the ground.
“Just hoping to see him play confident, play fast, and to be able to capture the style of football that he’s used to playing,” Canales said about Brooks. “I know that that is going to take time, but I believe that he is physically ready to start that — go down that road, and particularly with Miles (Sanders) out (ankle injury), give us another running back in there with Chuba, to be able to carry the load.”
Adam Thielen, the veteran wide receiver who has been sidelined for seven games, took part in team drills to begin the week. It was the first time he had worked with his teammates to that extent since injuring his hamstring in a Week 3 win against the Las Vegas Raiders.
“I was able to do some team reps today, so that was the next step in the process — I haven’t done that in eight weeks,” Thielen said with a big smile. “Still a little ways to go, but encouraged, excited to be back on the field. I feel like sometimes you don’t realize what you have until it’s gone, right? So, it feels good to be back playing, and being around the guys, and trying to get back on the field on Sunday.”
Thielen’s return comes after the team traded away both Diontae Johnson and Jonathan Mingo in consecutive weeks.
With so much change at the position, it’s fair to wonder what Thielen’s role could look like on Sunday, especially as rookies Xavier Legette and Jalen Coker continue to ascend in Canales’ offense.
“We’re very flexible with where we can put guys,” Canales said. “And whether you’re the X, F (slot), or Z — kind of traditionally, the F is the slot term — but the way we play our system, we try to put guys in different positions for the concepts and for the matchups. And Thielen gives us a lot of flexibility with being able to take advantage of matchups when we can.
“And then, the development of Jalen as well — to be able to use him in different spots. Really gives us some flexibility, and just in general, just Adam’s professionalism and the way he approaches his day, the way he prepares his body, his mind, the way he attacks practice and all that, is such a good thing for a young group of guys to be able to see. This is what it looks like to be a pro who has played and had success for a long time. He brings a lot, a lot of wisdom, and side conversations about coverage, and stuff like that.”
While Brooks and Thielen were active participants on Wednesday, starting left guard Damien Lewis (illness), defensive end A’Shawn Robinson (rest) and pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney (knee) were sidelined.
Sanders, the injured running back, was already ruled out for the week of work by Canales on Monday.
Below is the complete Panthers injury report from Wednesday:
Did not participate: RB Miles Sanders (ankle/foot), G Damien Lewis (illness), DE A’Shawn Robinson (rest), OLB Jadeveon Clowney (knee).
Limited participation: OLB Amare Barno (PUP/knee), OT Ikem Ekwonu (ankle), CB Jaycee Horn (calf), WR Adam Thielen (hamstring), DB Xavier Woods (shoulder), OLB D.J. Johnson (concussion).
Full participation: RB Jonathon Brooks (knee).
From the locker room: Mays keeps center job, Young on their chemistry
Cade Mays, who spent a month on the New York Giants’ practice squad earlier this season, will retain the starting center job entering Week 12.
Mays has snapped the ball to QB Bryce Young during the team’s two-game winning streak, and the pair of young players have shown chemistry in the pre-snap process.
Canales chose Mays over veteran lineman Brady Christensen for the job. Mays, who has played with Christensen for the past three seasons, said the head coach told both players of the decision.
While Mays has played well, Christensen also had a solid turn at the center in the three previous games.
Christensen was asked to move out to left tackle to replace starter Ikem Ekwonu during the past two games, and ultimately, that switch led to him losing a starting job, despite a strong performance at both positions.
“I mean, we all know what we signed up for,” Mays told The Observer. “It’s a business at the end of the day, it could have went either way, and we were both understanding of that. You still have a job at the end of the day, and you’ve just got to play your role, whatever it happens to be.”
Young, who will start a fourth consecutive game at quarterback, believes Mays has played well in front of him. Mays held Pro Bowl defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence without a sack in Munich, Germany, before the bye week.
“It’s been great,” Young said about his chemistry with Mays. “Cade’s done an amazing job. Run game, pass protection — with all the IDs and communication — there’s a lot of stuff that doesn’t just show up on film that centers especially have to do. ... I have all the confidence in the world with him and the entire O-line, so I’m excited for us to keep growing.”
Mays made the Panthers’ initial 53-man roster in August but was cut soon after. He eventually landed on the Giants’ practice roster before the Panthers brought him back to their main depth chart.
A season-ending injury for initial starting center Austin Corbett led to Mays’ return. And Ekwonu’s eventual injury led to Mays’ promotion.
“I’ve always been confident,” Mays said. “I knew what I could do. But, I mean, you’ve got to do it again the next week and the next week. So, I can’t sit here and dwell on how I played in Germany. I’ve just got to go out and do it again.”
Quick hits
▪ The Pro Football Hall of Fame voting process was cut down to 25 modern-era semifinalists on Wednesday. The Panthers had three former players on the list: LB Luke Kuechly (first year of eligibility; 2012-19), WR Steve Smith (2001-13), and DE Jared Allen (2015).
▪ Panthers wide receiver Xavier Legette has four touchdowns in his first 10 NFL games. To put that into perspective, the previous three wideouts drafted by the Panthers — Terrace Marshall (second round, 2021), Shi Smith (sixth round, 2021) and Jonathan Mingo (second round, 2023) — combined for three touchdowns in 3,177 career snaps with Carolina.
▪ Hubbard needs just 85 rushing yards to set a new career-high mark for a single season. His top single-season performance was last year, when he produced 902 rushing yards. He currently has 818 rushing yards and a career-high six rushing touchdowns. He is also averaging a career-high 5.1 yards per carry.
This story was originally published November 20, 2024 at 5:00 PM.
