Jonathon Brooks, Patrick Jones and More Updates From Panthers' Final Week 1 Injury Report

It's Friday, so you know what that means: the Carolina Panthers are dropping their final injury report of the week going into the Week 1 contest against the Chicago Bears.

Going into Friday, we were keeping an eye on three players who were listed on the injury report, including running back Jonathon Brooks, defensive lineman Bobby Brown and outside linebacker Patrick Jones.

However, there was also a player not listed on the injury report we were watching in tight end Darren Waller, who has been ramping up and trying to learn the playbook ever since signing with the Panthers.

Here's a look at the final injury report and updates on each player.

Panthers' final injury report for Week 1

Carolina Panthers defensive tackle Bobby Brown III. — Carolina Panthers defensive tackle Bobby Brown III (97) adjusts his jersey during training camp at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Player	Injury	Wed	Thu	Fri	Game Status
Jonathon Brooks	Groin	LP	LP	FP	N/A
Bobby Brown	Back	LP	FP	FP	N/A
Patrick Jones	Back	DNP	DNP	DNP	Out

DNP = Did not participate | LP = Limited participation | FP = Full participation

Brooks was able to upgrade his participation to full on Friday and won't carry a designation into the weekend. Brown, who upgraded his work to full on Thursday, followed that up with another full session on Friday and is also good to go.

As for Jones, he wasn't able to log a single practice all week long and will miss the season-opener, which is an ominous start for a player who only appeared in four games in 2025 due to injury.

It's yet another brutal blow for a Panthers defense that is already without Nic Scourton, who suffered a torn ACL in training camp that will knock him out for the entire season.

Darren Waller good to go, but...

Carolina Panthers tight end Darren Waller. — Miami Dolphins tight end Darren Waller (83) runs out for player introductions prior to a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Head coach Dave Canales revealed that Waller is ready to go, but as the Associated Press' Steve Reed noted, Canales "stopped short of saying if he will be activated on Sunday."

If Waller is ready physically, the only possible reason not to have him play would be not having a strong enough grasp on the playbook. We expect to see Waller out there on Sunday.

Jonathon Brooks' expected role

Carolina Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks. — Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) hands the ball off to Carolina Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks (25) during the first half at New Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Head coach Dave Canales was asked about Brooks' workload after he showed up on the injury report this week.

Canales revealed that Brooks will be operating without limitations on Sunday against the Bears.

"No limitations," Canales said of Brooks, according to The Athletic's Joe Person.

"Just ready to see him play and try to utilize his talents the best way possible with some different things, but also just running the football," Canales added.

The expectation is that Brooks and fellow running back Chuba Hubbard are going to split work fairly evenly. How that ends up looking exactly remains to be seen.

We would guess that Hubbard will probably get more touches out of the gate because of his experience, but ultimately Carolina is likely to ride the hot hand and it's very possible we see another Rico Dowdle-type situation if Brooks gets hot.

Of course, game script will be a huge factor, but we'd estimate roughly 10 touches for Brooks in Week 1.

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