A reinvigorated Carolina Panthers defense may be getting back one of its starters this week.
After allowing a franchise-record 59 points in their regular-season opener against the Chicago Bears last weekend, the unit rebounded in a big way on Sunday—forcing five turnovers and holding the Atlanta Falcons to just three points in their first victory of the campaign. That performance did not feature outside linebacker Pat Jones II, who missed his second straight outing due to a back injury.
On Monday, head coach Dave Canales was asked how close Jones was to suiting up for the Week 2 tilt.
"Really close," Canales replied. "I'm sitting there Friday—and he went through drills and a bunch of things. But once you expose a player to an extended amount of work,
you really need to wait to see how it presents the following day.
"Where's the pain level? Where's the mobility level? All those things. And we just didn't feel like we could get him turned back around quickly after ramping his load up on Friday."
Jones, whose 2025 campaign was cut short due to another back injury, was a limited participant in practice throughout the week. He was listed as questionable for the contest on Friday's injury report.
Canales continued, and offered up an encouraging outlook for Jones' Week 3 status.
"I'm optimistic he'll be back this week," he added. "But again, we're gonna have to get him out there and move him and see where he's at."
The Panthers are once again on the road, as they'll travel to match up against the Cleveland Browns this upcoming Sunday.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers starting pass rusher nearing return
