Carolina Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks (knee) had a considerable amount of hype dished out for him by fantasy analysts ahead of the 2024 season. He was touted as a potential league-winner due to his three-down skill set and draft capital, as well as a head coach who creates excellent roles for his RBs for fantasy football scoring.
Unfortunately, after 10 weeks, we haven't gotten to see Brooks play a single snap. He remained on injured reserve most of that time and wasn't activated to play in Week 10. Instead, we've seen current team lead back Chuba Hubbard be the league-winner that the rookie was touted to be.
So will we see Brooks at all this season? When will he return? Here is the latest injury update.
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Jonathon Brooks Injury Update
He had his practice window opened a few weeks ago, and was elevated to the active roster right at the end of his 21-day window. Carolina took their sweet time with this one. However, he was inactive for Week 10. He'll still be able to play this season, but we may not see him in action until Week 12.
Dave Canales on Jonathon Brooks: "Took in a lot of factors, watched him progress throughout the week and really felt it wasn't time yet."
— Joe Person (@josephperson) November 11, 2024
Panthers head coach Dave Canales has been cryptic and vague in his statements about the freshman, and it's possible this is deliberate. Hubbard has been playing extremely well, and the team likely saw no reason to rush back one of their top draft picks. The running game is in a good state as it is.
Jonathon Brooks Fantasy Football Outlook
Each week, his overall season scoring projections have seemingly fallen. Now, they're much lower than initially thought. The Panthers just signed Hubbard to a big contract extension, meaning the potential workhorse role many envisioned for the first-year pro likely isn't happening.
Miles Sanders: 4 years, $25.4M
Chuba Hubbard: 4 years, $33.2M
Jonathon Brooks: 46th overall pickWut? pic.twitter.com/zW2eAIuRfI
— Matthew Betz (@TheFantasyPT) November 7, 2024
Brooks will still have the chance to be part of a highly productive committee similar to Detroit Lions running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, but we may not see it this season. The team seems destined to ease him in and limit his workload over the last seven games of the season.
He's still worth rostering in fantasy leagues as a lottery ticket and high-end handcuff option. He could still be start-worthy at some point, so it's not yet time to give up hope.
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