FRIDAY UPDATE: Brooks was listed as questionable for Week 10’s matchup vs. the Giants.
#Panthers injury report:
Ikem Ekwonu (ankle) — OUT
Adam Thielen (hamstring) — OUT
Jammie Robinson (knee) — Doubtful
Jonathon Brooks (knee) — Questionable
Jadeveon Clowney (rest/knee) — Questionable
Jordan Fuller (hamstring) — Questionable
Lonnie Johnson (quadricep) —…— Mike Kaye (@mike_e_kaye) November 8, 2024
The Panthers activated rookie Jonathon Brooks ($3,400 in Showdown) ahead of their Week 10 matchup with the Giants in Munich this Sunday morning. The Panthers used a second-round pick on Brooks and will definitely want to see what the rookie has to offer them as they look to rebuild going forward, but what does his activation mean for incumbent running back Chuba Hubbard ($9,800)? Let’s take a look.
The latest on Jonathon Brooks
Since his 21-day practice window expired this week, the team had to either activate Brooks or rule him out for the season by 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday. Head coach Dave Canales said Brooks would be activated but stopped short of committing to the rookie being ready to play this weekend.
Brooks suffered a torn ACL in his right knee while playing for Texas last Nov. 12, and he has not suffered any known setbacks in his recovery, although the team has been extremely cautious with him.
Even though he’s activated and on the roster, he could be a game-day inactive this week, or could be worked in very slowly over the next few weeks. Based on how the team has treated his recovery so far and how little they have to play for, it would be a surprise to see him with a significant workload Sunday morning.
The Panthers also have their bye week in Week 11, so if they hold off one more game, Brooks gets two more weeks of recovery.
The impact on Chuba Hubbard
At least short-term, I don’t think Brooks will have much impact on Hubbard. I ranked Hubbard as my No. 23 RB this week due to a tough matchup against the Giants’ solid run defense and the fact that the Panthers’ offense hasn’t been extremely productive under Bryce Young ($8,800).
Hubbard has averaged 16.0 fantasy points per game this season, but his best games came with Andy Dalton ($8,600) at QB. Last week, the offense did seem to click a little better with Young, and Hubbard had two rushing touchdowns to go with 72 rushing yards in an upset win over the Saints.
For this week, Hubbard is still an option and is actually the most expensive Panthers player in DFS contests, highlighted by the NFL $300K Showdown Special [$100K to 1st] (NYG vs CAR).
The long-term impact on the Panthers’ backfield
Even though they’ve been careful, the Panthers will likely want to get a look at Brooks at some point this season, as indicated by them activating him. He will probably take more work from Miles Sanders ($2,800) than Hubbard, though, since Sanders has only averaged an inefficient 3.7 yards per carry and scored just one touchdown this season.
Hubbard could lose work as well, down the road, but he remains a solid RB2 until Brooks starts eating into his workload.
The bottom line
For their game this week, the Panthers are 6.5-point underdogs to the Giants, and Hubbard is +125 to score a touchdown, the shortest odds of any member of the Panthers. You can use Hubbard as usual for this contest but look for Brooks to get more involved in Week 12 and on.
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