The Carolina Panthers are in need of some running back reinforcements.
Jonathon Brooks is injured and going to miss extended time, and that has brought a fascinating veteran RB name to the forefront: Austin Ekeler.
No signing has been made yet as of Wednesday morning, but the Panthers evidently feel like they need to add some more depth in a hurry.
Jonathon Brooks Injury Update
The news emerged Wednesday morning that Brooks is going to be out a while.
He exited Sunday’s Week 2 game and walked to the locker room with trainers by his side and a towel over his head. It wasn’t clear what kind of injury he had sustained based on the way he was moving, but turns out it is a core muscle injury.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport shared this update on X:
#Panthers RB Jonathan Brooks, who left Sunday’s win early, is expected to have surgery today to repair a core muscle injury that will land him on Injured Reserve, sources say.
Brooks is out at least 6 weeks, but should return with plenty of time to contribute down the stretch. pic.twitter.com/KaEZicqJhk
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 23, 2026
A six-week absence is particularly painful for Brooks, who has already dealt with a bunch of different injuries during his NFL career.
The Panthers were hoping he could finally be their RB2 and even work in tandem with Chuba Hubbard, but if that’s going to happen this season, it’s now more than a month away.
So in the meantime, Carolina needed to assess its RB depth chart. AJ Dillon is the other veteran presence in the building, but they evidently want more.
Austin Ekeler to Panthers?
The Panthers are working out Ekeler on Wednesday, according to NFL insider Aaron Wilson.
“Ekeler has been fully medically cleared after tearing his Achilles last season with the Washington Commanders,” Wilson wrote on X.
Ekeler is originally an undrafted player out of Western State in Colorado.
He grew into a star with the Chargers for his dual-purpose ability as a running back, making his mark early in his career as a pass catcher more than anything else.
He spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Chargers, then played the last two years with the Washington Commanders.
Ekeler is 31 now, and his last somewhat healthy season was with Washington in 2024, when he had 77 runs for 367 yards (4.8 yards per carry) and 35 catches for 366 yards.
He got hurt in the Commanders’ second game last season and didn’t play for them again before becoming a free agent this offseason.
In his career, Ekeler has appeared in 117 NFL games and has 1,081 runs for 4,765 yards and 43 touchdowns while catching 480 passes for 4,288 yards and another 30 TDs.
Given the way Bryce Young has already been throwing successfully to Hubbard this season, Ekeler’s ability to catch the ball out of the backfield seems like it could certainly come in handy for the Panthers if he impresses in his workout and they decide to sign him.
Panthers Linked to 73-TD RB Amid Jonathon Brooks Injury News