CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — After being cleared to participate in the team’s offseason conditioning program without limitations, Carolina Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks celebrated in a way he deemed most appropriate: He got baptized.
Brooks has leaned heavily on his faith to get him through personal and professional issues: the death of his father and two serious knee injuries that have derailed the start of a promising NFL career.
The Panthers selected
Brooks in the second round of the draft in 2024 with an eye toward the speedy, powerful Texas standout developing into their lead back. They believed Brooks would overcome a torn ACL in his right knee that prematurely ended his college career late in the 2023 season.
But after months of rehab, Brooks’ debut in Carolina ended after just three games when he tore his ACL a second time.
He missed the rest of his rookie season and all of 2025.
After two surgeries and months of grueling rehab, Brooks said Tuesday he is “close to 100%.” He has rejoined his teammates on the practice field with the expectation that he'll be part of Carolina's running back rotation in 2026.
“I’ve been through a lot in my life," the 22-year-old Brooks said. “I lost my father. I’ve torn my ACL twice. Every single time I reverted back to my faith and for me, my baptism was a recommitment of my faith — to not only change myself, but from that day forward to stop making excuses for my surroundings.”
Brooks said he has always believed in and followed God.
But during his time away from the football field he came to realize that he wasn't fully committed to the process.
“I didn’t live accordingly,” Brooks said. “I used to use the excuse of being around the locker room my whole football career, whether it’s high school, college, or NFL, and I'd be like, ‘Oh, I’m around people who cuss and do all this.' I kept trying to, I guess, put the blame on others in a sense. And, in reality, I just needed to check myself.”
His father, James “Skip” Brooks, died at 49 on March 28, 2022, due to complications from a blood clot that impacted his heart.
Brooks was a freshman at Texas and had just finished spring practice when his family phoned to tell him. His father had been his biggest fan. He taught him the game. He pushed him to be great.
The death hit Jonathon Brooks and his brother, Jordon, hard.
Months later, they honored their father with matching tattoos, the date of his death etched in Roman numerals on their right forearms. Brooks would tap or point to the tattoo after scoring a touchdown during his three seasons with the Longhorns.
He hasn't had a chance to do the same at the NFL level.
He's only played three games as a rookie before reinjuring the knee.
The majority of his NFL career has been spent in the training room.
That can often be a lonely place for a player leaving them feeling outcast, but Brooks said he received constant encouragement and emotional support from the guy he came in to compete with — starting running back Chuba Hubbard.
Their relationship has transcended being teammates.
They talk. They hang out. And when Brooks got baptized this past Sunday, Hubbard was there.
“He’s been building in his faith, building in his relationship with God, which I think is amazing,” Hubbard said. “And in doing that, I think it also just kind of creates a resiliency in your mind and where you’re going there."
There is a chance Brooks could wind up pushing Hubbard for carries this season. Hubbard said there's nothing he'd like to see more than Brooks succeed after all that he's been through.
“He's one of one player and a one of one person,” Hubbard said.
Brooks has faith it will all work out, both football and life.
During the darkest of times — the emotional toll of dealing with a parent's death and having the game he loves to play stripped away due to injuries — Brooks would remind himself of the story of Job from the Old Testament.
It has taught him to keep God “front and center” moving forward.
“Job had everything, and, Satan attacked him,” Brooks said. “He took his children. His money. His animals, and everything — and he was still rooted in his faith. After that, God gave Job everything he had, times two. So for me, I just feel like a lot has been taken from me — my father, my two ACLs — but I'm staying rooted in my faith and knowing that he has a great plan for me."
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL
