Panthers’ Wonnum, Brooks Out at Least Four Games – It comes as no surprise but still stings that D.J. Wonnum is not ready to go for the Carolina Panthers. According to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, the team will be placing the fifth-year veteran outside linebacker on the physically unable to perform list (PUP) to start off the regular season, his inaugural campaign with the franchise. Wonnum has been working his way back from a torn quad, an injury he suffered at the end of the 2023 season with the Minnesota Vikings.
Despite the injury, the Panthers threw caution to the wind and signed Wonnum to a two-year, $12.5 million contract this past spring. The hope was for the 26-year-old to start alongside fellow University of South Carolina Gamecock Jadeveon Clowney, who also signed on the dotted line with Carolina during the offseason.
Wonnum, however, has yet to be cleared and fully participate in a practice in 2024. And now, with this new development, his placement on the PUP list will keep him on ice for at least the first four games of the campaign.
President of football operations and general manager Dan Morgan commented on Wonnum’s recovery back on July 23.
“He had some things goin’ on that I really don’t want to get into here,” Morgan said. “But nothing that really set him back that much. We feel good about where he’s at right now. D.J.’s workin’ his butt off, again. So, we except him to progress and we’ll see where he’s at the end of training camp.”
The injury to Wonnum was not the only blow they had to absorb. The Panthers placed rookie running back Jonathon Brooks on the physically unable to perform/non-football injury list on Tuesday morning.
Brooks has failed to take the practice field since Carolina traded a bounty of draft picks, Nos. 52, 142 and 155 to the Indianapolis Colts to select the former Texas star at No. 46 in April. He is still recovering from ACL surgery in November after injuring his right knee against the TCU Horned Frogs.
Panthers first-year coach Dave Canales has repeatedly stated that Brooks is on the mend, but that it is more important to consider his long-term health, be patient and not rush him back. He said early on during training camp that Brooks likely would not be ready until Week 3 or 4, at the earliest.
Brooks, when he last spoke to the media during offseason workouts, was in good spirits and understood the process.
“You kind of just have to look at your future,” Brooks said at the time. “I just have to know that for me to have patience is going to help me further my career.”
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Vikings’ Hockenson to Start on PUP List – What was already thought to be a difficult season just got ten-times worse. Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson will kick off the 2024 NFL season on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, ruling him out for the team’s first four games.
According to ESPN’s senior NFL insider Adam Schefter, the 27-year-old Hockenson is still recovering from a torn ACL he suffered during Week 16 last season. The Vikings still expect him to return at some point in 2024.
Hockenson will miss the Vikings’ games against Daniel Jones and the New York Giants, Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers, C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans and Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers. That is ‘Murderers Row’ in the first four weeks. The earliest he is eligible to return would be their Week 5 matchup against the New York Jets on October 6.
Hockenson went down in the third quarter of their December 24 loss to their division rival in the NFC North, the Detroit Lions. He caught a pass up the middle of the field, but was tackled directly on his right knee. He got back on his feet right away but was clutching at his knee in agony and pain before he exited the field.
Obviously, he did not return, and the Vikings ruled him out soon after. Hockenson finished with 58 yards on four receptions in the loss.
The former Iowa standout was in the middle of his best season in the NFL. Hockenson, who was drafted by the Lions before he was dealt to Minnesota in the middle of the 2022 season, had career-highs in receiving yards (960) and catches (95), plus five touchdowns in 2023. He was a stabilizing force in the Vikings’ offense while the team had to rotate through a number of mediocre signal callers after starter Kirk Cousins’ season-ending Achilles injury.
Hockenson underwent successful ACL surgery at the end of January, a month after suffering the injury. He waited to undergo the procedure to allow the MCL tear that occurred on the same play to heal.
He signed a four-year contract extension last August that will pay him at least $66 million and up to $68.5 million.
