Fantasy Football Injury News: Ashton Jeanty And Jonathon Brooks Return to Practice

The latest injury updates for Carolina Panthers RB Jonathon Brooks and Las Vegas Raiders RB Ashton Jeanty.

Dec 28, 2025; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty (2) enters the field before the game against the New York Giants at Allegiant Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Carolina Panthers RB Jonathon Brooks has been a non-participant in the Panthers’ last several practices with general soreness.  While  Las Vegas Raiders RB Ashton Jeanty has been a non-participant at their practices since Aug. 23 with an ankle injury.

With all the stress that has surrounded the two's availability going into Week 1, fantasy managers can exhale a bit, as some recent positive news regarding both of the RBs' injury statuses has came out.

Jonathon Brooks Injury Update

Aug 21, 2026; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Carolina Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks (25) reacts after scoring a touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first quarter during a preseason game at EverBank Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

According to Panthers beat reporter for ESPN, Mike Kaye, Brooks was in uniform and pads at Carolina’s practice on Wednesday, Sep.9.

With his injury history, missing most of 2024 and all of 2025 due to an ACL tear, any time that Brooks misses practice will be stressful news for fantasy managers. And as bad as it is, it can also be impactful to his fantasy outlook for this season.

Brooks is set to be a part of a split backfield, and it came out on Sep.8 that the RB he will be sharing carries with, Chuba Hubbard, is the listed RB1 on the depth chart.  Brooks could still play his way into a lead back role; it is too early in the season to count that out. But at the very least it does hurt his fantasy value. Him ending up in that RB2 role is likely partly because of his injury history.

For now, despite Brooks consistently having a higher ADP than Brooks for the majority of the offseason, right now Hubbard is the more valuable RB in Carolina to have in fantasy.

Jonathon Brooks Week 1 Fantasy Outlook

The Panthers in Week 1 play the Chicago Bears. With how the Bears' run defense was a season ago, Brooks is a borderline startable fantasy RB despite his usage for the game being extremely uncertain,

In 2025, Chicago allowed the seventh most rushing yards per game in the NFL, 131.4. They also allowed the 15th most PPR fantasy points to RBs. The reason for that rank not being lower is because they were good at limiting rushing TDs. They only allowed nine last season.

Ashton Jeanty Injury Update

Jan 4, 2026; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty (2) carries the ball against the Kansas City Chiefs in the first half at Allegiant Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After suffering an injury that looked like it could spell the end of a potential redemption sophomore season for Jeanty, he is now on track to play in Week 1. Head Coach of the Raiders, Klint Kubiak, said that Jeanty would practice on Wednesday, Sep.9. Jeanty should still be the clear workhorse back even with the outstanding play of RB2 of Las Vegas, Mike Washington Jr., in the preseason.

Washington Jr. in the preseason had 23 carries for 168 rushing yards. He is by no means startable in fantasy, but should be viewed as one of the better RB handcuffs to have in fantasy football.

Ashton Jeanty Week 1 Fantasy Outlook

In Week 1, the Raiders will take on the Miami Dolphins. Jeanty in this matchup, even if he does have a somewhat hindered workload, is a must-start. 

In 2025, the Dolphins allowed the sixth-most rushing yards per game in the NFL, 132.4. In PPR fantasy formats, they allowed the seventh most fantasy points of any team to RBs.