Carolina Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks cannot shake the injury bug, as the second-round rookie suffered his second torn ACL in as many seasons during Sunday’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. After suffering a knee injury during his final collegiate season, the Panthers selected the running back believing he could be back on the field early in the season. Instead, he waited until late November to make his NFL debut and played in only three games, recording nine carries for 22 yards and three receptions for 23 yards.
The Panthers already extended running back Chuba Hubbard, so they will have one competent back next year. With that said, they should plan for life without Brooks. The running back needed a full calendar year to recover from his previous ACL injury, so he could miss a sizable portion of the 2025 season. The Panthers must plan for this possibility, which means they could target running back J.K. Dobbins as a free agent.
Jonathon Brooks Injury Could Lead to J.K. Dobbins Signing
Dobbins originally entered the NFL as a second-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Selected by the Baltimore Ravens, the Ohio State looked remarkably efficient while splitting snaps with Mark Ingram and Gus Edwards as a rookie. Appearing in 15 games, Dobbins finished his inaugural season with 805 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on just 134 carries (6.0 yards per attempt). With Ingram leaving for the Houston Texans in 2021, Dobbins had the opportunity to establish himself as a star in 2021.
Unfortunately, that never happened, as injuries erased his 2021 season and limited him to a collective nine games over the 2022 and 2023 seasons. However, despite this, Dobbins returned to form for the Chargers in 2024. While he’s currently battling a knee sprain, the second-round pick dominated when healthy, recording 766 yards and eight touchdowns on 158 carries. By comparison, Gus Edwards has recorded just 274 yards and two touchdowns on 79 carries in the same environment. Now set to become a free agent, Dobbins could be the perfect one-year rental to help out while Jonathon Brooks works his way back from injury.
Better In Small Doses
Dobbins has not been the picture of health throughout his career, so he’s not the obvious choice to fill in for Brooks. However, the early portion of the 2024 season proves that he still has something left in his tank. Dobbins entered the season in a timeshare with fellow free agent signee Gus Edwards but earned a larger workload once he proved to be a vastly superior running back. It stands to reason that Dobbins could thrive with a balanced workload, and he should receive that in Carolina.
Chuba Hubbard is no Saquon Barkley, but the former fourth-round pick is a solid starter who can split snaps with someone like Dobbins. Seeing as they extended him before the Jonathon Brooks injury, it’s clear that Carolina wants a two-headed backfield for the time being. Dobbins and Hubbard can form an ideal tandem backfield and provide Bryce Young (or whoever ends up starting in 2025) with a reliable running game.
Main Photo: Eric Hartline – USA Today Sports
