Jonathon Brooks Responds to Critic After Panthers Running Back Misses Practice

In the two practices since the Carolina Panthers cut their roster down to 53 players on Sunday, running back Jonathon Brooks hasn't taken part.

That does, of course, raise some eyebrows given the injury issues the former second-round pick has had during his career, but as it turns out, Brooks is just dealing with some soreness, head coach Dave Canales revealed.

Canales also said he is "optimistic" that Brooks will be ready to roll for Week 1, which for the Panthers falls on Sunday, Sept. 13, when Carolina will host the Chicago Bears.

"I'm very optimistic he'll be available for Week 1," Canales said.

While Canales wouldn't specify where the soreness is, the simple fact that he thinks Brooks will be ready for the season-opener suggests it's nothing to be concerned about.

Jonathon Brooks responds to critic

Carolina Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks. — Carolina Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks (24) before the game at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

However, that didn't stop one Panthers fan from hitting the panic button on X and calling Brooks a waste pick. Brooks later responded to that fan.

"Yea this was a wasted pick," the fan wrote after learning of Brooks' practice absence.

"God bless you my boy," Brooks responded while also including three "rolling on the floor laughing" emojis.

🤣🤣🤣🤣 God bless you my boy
— Jonathon Brooks (@2brookss) September 2, 2026

We know Brooks definitely pays at least some attention to what is said about him on social media. The aforementioned post is one example of that.

Brooks also posted this back in April:

"I’ll never understand how the fanbase you play for can not only tear you down as a person and player but bring your significant other into it... The world needs a lot of Jesus," he said.

How much is too much?

Concern about Brooks' overall outlook with the Panthers is no doubt warranted after the disappointing start to his career that has been marred by injury.

Brooks missed most of his first year in the NFL due to a torn ACL he suffered in college, and he then he tore the same ACL in his rookie campaign, forcing him to miss all of 2025.

All that said, missing practice time because of soreness is hardly something to get into a tizzy about. We see players sitting with soreness all the time and it only makes sense to play it safe because of Brooks' history.

Not to mention, he has gotten a ton of reps this offseason, both in training camp and the preseason, and especially while Chuba Hubbard was sidelined due to injury, so it's not like Brooks is starving for practice work.

"Brooks got a lot of reps the last couple of weeks while Hubbard was out," The Athletic's Joe Person stated. "Think Panthers are just giving him some rest before Week 1."

As long as he's back on the practice field and ready to go by next Sunday, all of this is much ado about nothing.

Jonathon Brooks' 2026 outlook

The expectation is that Brooks and Hubbard will split work similar to how Hubbard and Rico Dowdle did last season.

Canales envisions a situation in which one guy comes in for the early-down work and the other subs in for third downs in each series.

"We'll definitely roll it out just the way we have been, where you have a lead back for the series, the other guy comes in on third down so they can be in there for the protection, and also we run the ball on third down," Canales explained.

"So those are good opportunities to just keep a guy into the game while the other person, whether it's Chuba or JB, we'll make that decision when we get closer," Canales added. "But whoever the lead guy for the base downs is, they'll get the bulk of that rhythm so that they can kind of feel what's happening with the fronts and how the defense is trying to play as well."

While we expect a fairly even timeshare, with Hubbard likely to get the majority of the touches over Brooks out of the gate because of his experience, we know that can change.

As we saw last season, Canales isn't afraid to make a change when it comes to lead-back duties after Dowdle was given that role over Hubbard when he exploded for a two-game generational run in 2025.

So, don't be surprised if Brooks emerges as the clear lead back at some point in 2026.

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