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Carolina Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks (knee) has been languishing on many fantasy football rosters for far too long. The first running back selected in the 2024 NFL Draft has had his return date pushed back multiple times -- he has yet to play a game, even though early reports indicated he could be ready by Week 1.
It's been a frustrating situation, but there's a light at the end of the tunnel. His practice window was opened ahead of Week 7 of NFL action, meaning he must be elevated to the active roster within 21 days of that date or remain on injured reserve for the remainder of the season.
So does this mean Brooks will return soon?
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Jonathon Brooks Injury Update
This week is the last week that the team can elevate him, so it's likely that they will. Although fantasy managers who drafted him may feel like they've come up empty, that may not be the case for much longer.
If you've stashed Jonathon Brooks and Puka Nacua for several weeks thinking they'd be dynamite down the stretchpic.twitter.com/qOEHBj17Kw
— Sam Wagman (@swagman95) November 1, 2024
Per NFL Insider Adam Schefter, Brooks is finally expected to make his debut in Week 10 against the New York Giants in Germany. This would end months of waiting and wondering whether he'd play this season. There could always be a setback, but it seems like things are finally on the right track.
Carolina’s rookie running back, Jonathon Brooks, is slated to return next Sunday: https://t.co/TUAlNuBaiE
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 3, 2024
Jonathon Brooks Fantasy Football Outlook
His workload will almost certainly be limited in his first game back. He's an extremely risky start, considering how cautious the Panthers have already been with managing his injury. It's unlikely he'll see more than a few touches in his first game back and slowly ramp up from there.
#Bengals Tee Higgins - DNP. Data favors sitting Wk 10 if DNP Tues#Bears Caleb Williams - Comments suggest mild ankle. If so, data favors playing Wk 10. Re-injury would likely cause dip in rushing#Panthers Jonathon Brooks - RB ACL data projects ~20-40% workload
4/7
— Deepak Chona, MD. SportsMedAnalytics (@SportMDAnalysis) November 5, 2024
He'll then have a bye week in Week 11 to rest up before taking on the tough Kansas City Chiefs defense in Week 12, where he'll probably have a bit more of a workload. A full load probably wouldn't come until Week 14, and it remains to be seen how the split between him and current lead back Chuba Hubbard will turn out.
For now, he remains a bench stash, but he has the talent to be a league-winner down the stretch if he can get fully healthy and gets enough of a workload to produce like the team thinks he can.
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