The Carolina Panthers had a busy offseason, as they looked to beef up their roster after finishing with the worst record in the NFL in 2023. Two of their more notable additions in Jonathon Brooks, who was a second-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and D.J. Wonnum, who signed a two-year, $12.5 million deal with the Panthers in free agency, have yet to practice for their new team, forcing Carolina to make a pair of big decisions on them.
Brooks is recovering from a torn ACL he suffered during his breakout 2023 campaign with Texas, while Wonnum is recovering from a torn quad. With roster cuts needing to be made across the league, the Panthers decided to save themselves a pair of roster spots by leaving both Brooks and Wonnum on the PUP list to begin the season, meaning they both will miss the first four games of the 2024 campaign.
Via Ian Rapoport:
“The Panthers are placing standout edge D. J. Wonnum on PUP to start the season, knocking him out the first four games. He’s recovering from a torn quad.”
Panthers playing it safe with Jonathon Brooks, D.J Wonnum
There’s obviously a desire to see both these guys suit up for the Panthers, but playing it safe by not rushing them back makes quite a bit of sense. Brooks could be a star in the making once he returns, as he put up some big numbers for Texas as their starter in 2023 (187 CAR, 1139 YDS, 10 TD, 25 REC, 286 YDS, 1 TD), while Wonnum put together the best season of his career last year (62 tackles, 8 sacks, 7 TFL, 15 QB Hits, 6 PG, 1 FR, 1 TD) to help himself earn a nice new deal in free agency.
These two guys weren’t the only players Carolina opted to place on the PUP list, as they were also joined by 2022 sixth-round pick Amare Barno. In his second year, Barno racked up 21 tackles and one tackle for a loss while playing in a limited role over 15 games, but he also plays on the defensive line alongside Wonnum, so their depth at that spot is going to be tested right from the get go.
Ultimately, none of these moves are all that surprising, but they will have a big impact on how the Panthers start the 2024 campaign. The hope is that all three guys can come back as soon as they are eligible after the first four games of the season, but it will be worth keeping an eye out for injury updates over the next few weeks to see whether or not that is plausible.
