As Jonathon Brooks heads into pivotal 2026 with Panthers, Chuba Hubbard has advice
In the postgame locker room a few Saturdays ago, one of the leaders of the Carolina Panthers walked up to someone he considers “one of the hardest workers I’ve seen.”
That hard-working teammate was Jonathon Brooks.
And that leader was starting running back Chuba Hubbard, who carried a simple message.
“I just told him, after the game, ‘The time is now,’” Hubbard said of his talk with Brooks. “We gotta get back to work. No looking back as to what happened before, or too far into the future. Just focus on now. I’ll be an asset to him in every way possible I can be. He’s a great player, and I’m excited for him this year.”
Such advice might not break any new ground. And “staying in the present” is what the Panthers’ second-round pick in 2024 has done the past two years, according to teammates and coaches.
But as Brooks embarks on his third season in an NFL locker room, the words indicate a clear urgency. Brooks knows it, too — for himself and his team.
“I never lose focus of what our main goal is,” Brooks said earlier this month. “Our main focus is to win a Super Bowl around here. And I know it’s going to take every single one of us. This year just showed us how far we can go.”
He added: “The competitor in me wants to get out there and showcase what I can do, and help the team. But the teammate in me is just super proud of what the guys did.”
Brooks remains one of the Panthers’ promising mysteries heading into 2026 and beyond. Injuries made it that way.
The Panthers selected Brooks with the 46th overall pick in the 2024 draft. The Texas Longhorn and Hallettsville, Texas, native was recovering from a torn ACL in his knee at the time of the draft, but the goal was to have Brooks ready to play by the beginning of the 2024 season. His NFL debut was delayed a bit but ultimately arrived in Week 12 against the Kansas City Chiefs. He showed flashes against the reigning Super Bowl champs. He did so again a week later, against the Tampa Bay Bucs.
Then in Week 14, he took a handoff in Philadelphia, tried to turn in the backfield and awkwardly fell to the ground, clutching the knee he’d just spent a year rehabilitating. Same ligament. Same tear.
That ended his 2024 season, and then, ahead of the 2025 season, the Panthers placed Brooks on the season-ending physically unable to perform list. In two years, Brooks has played in three games.
The Panthers prepared adequately for Brooks’ absence in 2025. They extended Hubbard. They signed Rico Dowdle in free agency, who later had a 1,300-plus-scrimmage-yard year in 2025. They drafted Trevor Etienne, who made massive strides as a returner and as a running back as the year went on.
And all the while, Brooks was in the building, in the background every day. He wasn’t practicing, technically, but he was regularly on the grass working out off to the side for the media-viewing portion of practice, testing his speed and agility — waking up every day and doing whatever he could to detect “a difference in my body,” he said. Teammates and coaches lauded his work ethic.
And that’s led him here, to a pivotal 2026, where the time is now.
“I’m just going to go out there and play my ball, try not to do anything too extra,” Brooks said. “Just show the talents that God has given me my whole life, and somebody who’s going to be a team-first guy.”
How Jonathon Brooks can help the Carolina Panthers
Carolina is fresh off its first playoff appearance since 2017. The team is looking to make another jump in 2026. That’ll require developing a rushing attack that can be dominant like head coach and play-caller Dave Canales wants. It asserted such dominance for a moment in 2025 — particularly from Week 5 to Week 9 — but sustaining that proved difficult.
Could Brooks be part of that solution?
Not only can he be a part of the solution — with his acceleration when he’s on the outside, with his ability to fall forward when running between the tackles, with his reliable hands as a receiver.
He’ll need to be.
Keeping four running backs on the active roster is a luxury the Panthers probably won’t be able to afford in 2026. And with Hubbard locked down under contract, and Brooks and Etienne still on their rookie deals, it would make sense for Dowdle to be the one to test the free-agent waters again.
That would leave Hubbard, Brooks and Etienne, theoretically, in 2026. Brooks said he was “hopeful” to attend veteran minicamp in the spring but clarified that “there is no set date” on his full return and that he’s focused on “getting 100%.”
General manager Dan Morgan was effusive about Brooks in his end-of-season press conference.
“First off, just seeing Jonathon around the facility every day, the way that he attacks his rehab, the way that he attacks the weight room, being around the building with a smile on his face,” Morgan said. “He’s been through so much adversity, and he’s overcoming it.
“He’s looking great. He’s running really well. I saw him out there running routes the other day, he looked great. So yeah, he’s doing really good, I’m really proud of him and the way that he’s attacked this rehab process. It’s not easy. And he’s done great at it.”
Brooks heard the advice from Hubbard — that the time is now. It’s something he’s always known, he said.
“Obviously it’s been an emotional rollercoaster,” Brooks said of his life in the NFL to date. “But truthfully, I know that God has a plan for me. He makes no mistakes. And I know that he’s using my story to show the world the amazing things He can do.”
This story was originally published January 29, 2026 at 6:00 AM.
