Jonathon Brooks Gets Career-Threatening Update on Devastating Knee Injury

Carolina Panthers fans just got some of their worst news of the season. After missing the first 10 games of his rookie season with the torn ACL that led to his falling into the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, Jonathon Brooks made it only 23 snaps before suffering another devastating injury.

It was clear on Sunday that this was going to be a serious issue — a non-contact injury to the same leg on which he had torn his ACL before had just about everyone assuming disaster. And now it's been confirmed. But what does this mean for Brooks' future with the Panthers, and in the NFL in general?

Panthers News: Jonathon Brooks Tore Same ACL, Out for Season

Jonathon Brooks is officially out for the season with a torn ACL in his right knee — the same ACL that he tore in college at Texas and had surgically repaired. But at this point it's not only his season to worry about. This issue could very well be career threatening.

If he "just" had a torn ACL, there wouldn't be all that much long-term concern. The injury is not the death sentence it once was for running backs. At this point it's almost commonplace to return at full speed and continue a productive career.

But we now have two tears to the same ACL just 13 months apart. That alone will be a serious uphill battle to recover from to simply return to full health and have enough confidence in that knee to run effectively.

And we also have to consider what the complete lack of reps and practice will do to his chances of ever reaching his potential. He's played 23 NFL snaps, and even if he manages to return late next season, that will be two missed training camps and almost two full seasons of missed practices to start his career.

There aren't a ton of examples of early-round players at skill positions that missed essentially their entire rookie years due to injuries, but there are certainly some worrying ones.

Remember Kevin White? John Ross? Derrius Guice? You might not — and that's kind of the point.

We've recently seen Travis Etienne overcome a missed rookie season to still become a successful NFL player, so it's not like we have zero successful examples for Brooks to follow, but the odds are certainly against him. And he's staring down missing basically two seasons, not just one.

It might be some consolation for Panthers fans that Chuba Hubbard continues to look like a star and is locked up with a long-term contract, but it's still devastating to see an exciting young rookie have his career derailed like this.

Panthers fans, and NFL fans around the league, will all be pulling for Brooks to make a full recovery and make it back onto the field at full strength.

More Carolina Panthers news and analysis: