Brooks RB, Placed on PUP, Out for 2025

[pantherclaw]

8 minutes ago, SCO96 said:

If we were a solid winning organization most of us would have no problems with this selection. We would have had a capable starter in place to allow him to be eased into the rotation.

If were told prior to the draft that he had been completely cleared health wise, we "probably" wouldn't have a ton of reservations about this selection.

If we had picked this young man on Day 3 of the draft most of us would have no problems with this selection because we wouldn't have had to use draft capital to move up and get him.

Unfortunately, none of the above were true

1)  We were a terrible team in 2023 and needed an immediate impact player.

2)  He was hurt near the the end of the 2023 NCAA season. We traded up to get him even though we knew he wasn't medically cleared to play in 2024.

3) When training camp started we were hearing stories that the knee wasn't ready. That alone should have raised some red flags. I personally would have red-shirted him in 2024 in order to have him ready for 2025. We had Chubba as our lead back and other guys to fill the #2 and #3 spots on the depth chart. There was no need to rush Brooks unto the field in 2024.

Here's our draft history in the 2nd round between 2021 and 2024

2021 TMJ

2022 No draft choice. We picked Matt Corall in round 3 (#94) as our only Day 2 pick.

2023 Jonathan Mingo

2024 Jonathon Brooks.

We have taken 4 skill players on Day 2 of the draft for the past 4 years who have contributed absolutely nothing to the offensive side of the football. 3 are no longer on the team. Two of them are no longer in the NFL. One  could possibly never start a game due to a knee injury. This type of poor drafting is why this team has been so bad for the entire decade. 

Every team does it's homework. More so than any fan. 

Brooks, had he not been injured, would have been a first round talent. 

I have zero problems with the team (Dan Morgan and company) drafting Brooks in the 2nd.  He is a fantastic talent. 

As far as risk, this is the NFL.  Any and every player is exposed to the same brutality that the NFL is. 

Despite Brooks latest setback, it doesn't cost the team much.  Our running back room is stacked.  Could they have drafted someone else? Sure. No promise that someone else would have made an impact last year.  Or this year.  

When it's your job to do what Dan does, I pray you get it all right. Lord knows that there isn't a single GM that gets it all right. 

 

[Shotgun]

59 minutes ago, countryboi said:

I saw Brooks maybe a few weeks ago, he was walking pretty normally. of course he wasnt running, jumping and cutting.

Yes, if the position he played was "walking back" things wouldn't seem so bleak.

[Icege]

26 minutes ago, SCO96 said:

If we were a solid winning organization most of us would have no problems with this selection. We would have had a capable starter in place to allow him to be eased into the rotation.

If were told prior to the draft that he had been completely cleared health wise, we "probably" wouldn't have a ton of reservations about this selection.

If we had picked this young man on Day 3 of the draft most of us would have no problems with this selection because we wouldn't have had to use draft capital to move up and get him.

Unfortunately, none of the above were true

1)  We were a terrible team in 2024 and needed an immediate impact player.

2)  He was hurt near the the end of the 2023 season. We traded up to get him even though we knew he wasn't medically cleared to play in 2024.

3) When training camp started we were hearing stories that the knee wasn't ready. That alone should have raised some red flags. I personally would have red-shirted him in 2024 in order to have him ready for 2025. We had Chubba as our lead back and other guys to fill the #2 and #3 spots on the depth chart. There was no need to rush Brooks unto the field in 2024.

Here's our draft history in the 2nd round between 2021 and 2024

2021 TMJ

2022 No draft choice. We picked Matt Corall in round 3 (#94) as our only Day 2 pick.

2023 Jonathan Mingo

2024 Jonathon Brooks.

We have taken 4 skill players on Day 2 of the draft for the past 4 years who have contributed absolutely nothing to the offensive side of the football. 3 are no longer on the team. Two of them are no longer in the NFL. One  could possibly never start a game due to a knee injury. This type of poor drafting is why this team has been so bad for the entire decade. 

I mean... a lot of the information that could've helped set better expectations has always been out there:

• There was no RB on the team under contract for the 2025 - 2026 season except for Miles Sanders.
• The team did not have a second round pick going into the 2025 season due to the trade for Young.
• Chuba's extension did not happen until the beginning of November.
• Jonathon Brooks was the clear RB1 in the class with a massive gap between RB1 & RB2. Example: Dane Brugler had Brooks as RB1, overall #48; Blake Corum was RB2, #81 overall.
• The Giants held pick #47 and had just lost Saquon Barkley to the Eagles in free agency. They were going to take Brooks had the Panthers not jumped in front of them.

So if we're framing things with that context:

• Chuba was expected to be RB1
• Miles (at the time) was RB2
• Brooks was essentially RB3, stashed for rehab in 2024 with a long runway.

The original injury occurred Nov 2023 while the re-injury occurred December 2024. That is right in the high-risk window for recurrence, especially in explosive athletes. The fact that it also happened on a non-contact play suggests possible biomechanical issues such as muscle imbalance, rather than a failed surgery (or bad decision-making).

 

NFL teams invest heavily in medically vetting prospects. If there had been a clear red flag in imaging or recovery markers, the team is going to find it. This sucks and the Panthers have sucked, yes, but this wasn't blind optimism or malpractice by the front office. It was a calculated decision based on the roster, draft capital, positional scarcity, etc.

[countryboi]

14 minutes ago, Shotgun said:

Yes, if the position he played was "walking back" things wouldn't seem so bleak.

You joke, but it can always be worse. He might walk with a limp or need assistance. Different sport, but Lonzo Ball couldn't even walk up steps a year after his injury.

Edited 8 hours ago by countryboi

[PNW_PantherMan]

27 minutes ago, countryboi said:

You joke, but it can always be worse. He might walk with a limp or need assistance. Different sport, but Lonzo Ball couldn't even walk up steps a year after his injury.

Let's hope Brooks doesn't wear Big Baller Brand shoes.

[SCO96]

38 minutes ago, Icege said:

NFL teams invest heavily in medically vetting prospects. If there had been a clear red flag in imaging or recovery markers, the team is going to find it. This sucks and the Panthers have sucked, yes, but this wasn't blind optimism or malpractice by the front office. It was a calculated decision based on the roster, draft capital, positional scarcity, etc.

I understand the reasoning, but it was a very risky move and hindsight proves that. We were 2-15 in 2023. We needed help at almost every position on the team.

When a team is bad, you can't afford to miss out on your Day 1 and Day 2 draft choices. "IF" I were a GM in our 2024 draft situation, I'm not investing a 2nd round pick on a RB coming off of an ACL tear in NOVEMBER unless  I know I don't have to use him his rookie season. As has been pointed out, it's not uncommon for a setback to occur w/in a year of the initial surgery. If I had to have a starting back I would have taken the safest/surest draft choice at a position of need in  round 2 and then taken the best available back in round 3 or round 4.

In 2025 I would put him on the field along with the 2024 2nd rounder who should be starting at another position on the field.

Edited 7 hours ago by SCO96

[PNW_PantherMan]

Just now, SCO96 said:

I understand the reasoning, but it was a very risky move and hindsight proves that. We were 2-15 in 2023. We needed help at almost every position on the team.

When a team is bad, you can't afford to miss out on your Day 1 and Day 2 draft choices. "IF" I were a GM in our 2024 draft situation, I'm not investing a 2nd round pick on a RB coming off of an ACL tear in NOVEMBER unless  I know I don't have to use him his rookie season. As has been pointed out, it's not uncommon for a setback to occur w/in a year of the initial surgery. If I had to have a starting back I would have taken the safest choice and round 2 and then took the best available back in round 3 or round 4.

In 2025 I would put him on the field along with the 2024 2nd rounder who should be starting at another position on the field.

Agreed.  And just thinking about the other side of the RB coin.  When has a team regretted passing on a RB?  Can you think of an example of a team passing on a RB and regretting it big time later?  I can't think of any in the last 20 years.

[CanadianCat]

If BY continues to develop. 

XL learns how to catch with his speed.

Tet lives up to his hype...

THEN Brooks comes back.. dammmmmmmmmmmmmm

[Icege]

13 minutes ago, CanadianCat said:

If BY continues to develop. 

XL learns how to catch with his speed.

Tet lives up to his hype...

THEN Brooks comes back.. dammmmmmmmmmmmmm

Don't forget the young TEs, Coker, Etienne, and Jimmy Horn Jr!

I'm amped to see how the team develops over the course of this upcoming season.

[frankw]

5 hours ago, Icege said:

I mean... a lot of the information that could've helped set better expectations has always been out there:

• There was no RB on the team under contract for the 2025 - 2026 season except for Miles Sanders.
• The team did not have a second round pick going into the 2025 season due to the trade for Young.
• Chuba's extension did not happen until the beginning of November.
• Jonathon Brooks was the clear RB1 in the class with a massive gap between RB1 & RB2. Example: Dane Brugler had Brooks as RB1, overall #48; Blake Corum was RB2, #81 overall.
• The Giants held pick #47 and had just lost Saquon Barkley to the Eagles in free agency. They were going to take Brooks had the Panthers not jumped in front of them.

So if we're framing things with that context:

• Chuba was expected to be RB1
• Miles (at the time) was RB2
• Brooks was essentially RB3, stashed for rehab in 2024 with a long runway.

The original injury occurred Nov 2023 while the re-injury occurred December 2024. That is right in the high-risk window for recurrence, especially in explosive athletes. The fact that it also happened on a non-contact play suggests possible biomechanical issues such as muscle imbalance, rather than a failed surgery (or bad decision-making).

 

NFL teams invest heavily in medically vetting prospects. If there had been a clear red flag in imaging or recovery markers, the team is going to find it. This sucks and the Panthers have sucked, yes, but this wasn't blind optimism or malpractice by the front office. It was a calculated decision based on the roster, draft capital, positional scarcity, etc.