Overview
- This week the Panthers confirmed Brooks is fully cleared for organized team activities and posted a clip that showed noticeable burst and top-end speed.
- Brooks has only 23 NFL snaps after two ACL tears — one in college and a second early in his rookie season — and he missed all of 2025 while rehabbing.
- Coaches and teammates have praised his form and mental toughness, and Brooks says he trusts the medical and coaching plan guiding his comeback.
- The Panthers have limited Brooks to individual drills and 7-on-7 periods and given him rest days rather than full-team contact work as they evaluate his readiness.
- Brooks is in contention to be the primary backup behind Chuba Hubbard, but two ACL reconstructions on the same leg raise real durability and re-injury concerns that leave his regular-season role uncertain and affect the team's depth picture after Rico Dowdle's departure.