text: The Carolina Panthers made Jonathon Brooks the first running back selected in the 2024 NFL Draft, taking him in the second round. However, his recovery from a November ACL tear has been slower than expected. Now finally activated from the NFI list, is the rookie RB going to play Sunday morning when the Panthers take on the New York Giants in Germany?
  What Is Jonathon Brooks’ Injury
  On Nov. 11, 2023, Brooks tore his ACL in Texas’ game against TCU. Shortly after, Brooks had surgery, ending his season and his collegiate career.
  Before his injury, Brooks ran for 1,139 yards and 10 touchdowns in 10 games while adding 25 receptions for 286 yards and a touchdown through the air. We will surely get some NFL highlights from him eventually, but for now, here’s some of his best work from college for fans to salivate over.
  Here's 3 minutes of Jonathon Brooks being an absolute beast for your timeline today pic.twitter.com/bue2kdMP1p
  — Nash (@NashTalksTexas) July 25, 2023
  Even though the Panthers knew he wouldn’t be ready for the start of the season, they still made Brooks the first running back off the board in the 2024 NFL Draft, selecting him with the No. 46 overall pick.
  Is Brooks Playing This Week?
  Brooks was always going to miss at least the first month of the season. However, it’s fair to say no one really expected him to remain sidelined this long. After getting in full practices for the better part of the past two weeks, Brooks does appear to be fully recovered from his knee injury. However, the timing of everything suggests we might not see the talented rookie just yet.
  Normally, when it comes to players who were on IR (or some variant of it), we know in advance whether they will play. The deadline to activate a player from IR is Saturday at 4 p.m. ET.; if an injured player is not activated, he obviously can’t play. If he is activated, a team would rarely do so only to make the player inactive on Sunday.
  With Brooks, the Panthers had no choice but to activate him earlier this week. He was at the end of his three-week window. Either the Panthers activated him to the main roster or they shut him down for the season. There was no other option.
  In this very unique case, though, activating Brooks does not guarantee he plays. In fact, I suspect the team will hold him out one more game.
  Despite the full practices, the Panthers listed Brooks as questionable. Furthermore, they are playing overseas and have their bye next week. By holding Brooks out one more game, he would have an additional two full weeks to recover.
  How Has Brooks’ Absence Impacted the Panthers?
  It’s interesting to think about how things would look had Brooks returned as previously expected somewhere in the Week 5-7 range. While Chuba Hubbard was already starting to play well, three to five weeks of very good play likely would not have been enough to earn him this extension.
  Sources: The #Panthers have locked in one of their young stars, agreeing to terms with RB Chuba Hubbard on 4-year, $33.2M contract extension.
  He gets a max value of $37.2M with $15M in new fully guaranteed money. 💰 💰 💰 pic.twitter.com/oDOf5AxmDM
  — Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 7, 2024
  This is a complete game-changer for not only Hubbard but Brooks as well. The prevailing thought was Hubbard was merely a fill-in. Let’s quickly examine Hubbard’s history with the Panthers.
  In 2021, Hubbard got some starts filling in for an injured Christian McCaffrey. He played very well. After McCaffrey was traded to the San Francisco 49ers in 2022, Hubbard was made the lead running back. He once again played quite well.
  Then, in 2023, the Panthers signed Miles Sanders but inexplicably decided they wanted to make him the RB1 ahead of Hubbard. Unsurprisingly, the not-particularly-talented Sanders was a disaster, resulting in Hubbard taking over the lead role for the third consecutive year. Once again, he played well.
  Despite all of this, the Panthers spent a second-round pick on Brooks in the 2024 NFL Draft. However, since Brooks was not ready to play, Hubbard finally got a chance to serve as the starter to open the season. For the fourth consecutive year, when given the opportunity, Hubbard played very well. This time, the Panthers took note.
  The extended injury for Brooks has changed the course of both players’ careers. Now, Hubbard is locked into the Panthers for at least the next two or three years. He’s finally earned the confidence of the team. Even if Brooks is as good as he’s supposed to be, Hubbard is no longer going to simply fade into the background.
  If both backs are fully healthy, the likely scenario is a split backfield, something akin to what the Detroit Lions do with Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. Perhaps the due of Brooks and Hubbard can come up with a nickname as cool as Sonic and Knuckles.
  Either way, Hubbard’s contract guarantees he is not going anywhere. Hubbard will obviously be the lead running back this week regardless of whether Brooks plays. If Brooks does see the field, his snaps and touches should come at Sanders’ expense.
  Going forward, Brooks’ role will increase as he gets acclimated to professional football. However, Hubbard is likely to remain the top guy for the remainder of the season. The only question will be whether Brooks’ workload is taking everything Sanders currently has or if he is able to take a bite out of Hubbard’s touches as well.