Latest injury news puts the Panthers at a crossroads between giving young players more opportunities or making an impact trade
Carolina Panthers starting edge rusher Pat Jones II will be out for the season.
Fresh off a second consecutive victory to improve to 3-3 on the season, the Carolina Panthers did exit Week 6 with a bit of bad news that could impact the remainder of the regular season.
Head coach Dave Canales confirmed on Wednesday that starting outside linebacker Pat Jones II was expected to undergo season-ending back injury, a massive blow to the defensive front.
“It’s a big one for us,” Canales told reporters. “I know it may come as a shock because he was playing such awesome football throughout that game and was able to get through it, but it was something that as we continue to evaluate it and go through our process, popped up on us and we thought the best thing for him at this time was to make sure that we address that.”
Canales noted that Jones woke up Monday morning “in a really bad spot” forcing the team to make the best decision for the situation.
“He was really upset and clearly because when he’s in there he’s such an impactful player for us, but I wanted to make sure that we did the right thing for Pat and and of course you know everyone in his camp, his family and his agent and people involved there making the right decision for Pat,” Canales added.
Jones was among the many free agents brought into Carolina ahead of the 2025 season, signing a two-year, $20 million contract. Jones started four games for the Panthers totaling one sack and nine total tackles. Without Jones, the Panthers will have to get creative to replace his impact.
Panthers have multiple options to replace Pat Jones II, including swinging a potential trade
While speaking to reporters on Thursday, defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero suggested it would take multiple players to replace the impact Jones brought defensively off the edge. Right now, the Panthers will likely give second-round rookie Nic Scourton starting opportunities alongside D.J. Wonnum. When Jones missed Weeks 3-4, Scourton was already the one starting in his place.
The rookie is still searching for his first career sack entering Week 7 but the coaches have been impressed by his development the more workload he’s received defensively. The same goes for fellow rookie Princely Umanmielen rotating in off the bench. Another young player Canales mentioned following Jones’ injury is former second-round pick Boogie Basham, who is currently on the practice squad and could be brought up to the 53-man roster.
Those are the in-house options for the Panthers to consider over the next few weeks to see if the young players can continue improving a turning around one of the league’s worst pass rush units. If progress isn’t made and the Panthers keep finding ways to win, the days leading up to the November 4th trade deadline could get interesting.
A few teams are in the market for some impact pass rushers going into the deadline and the Panthers could enter that conversation depending on how the next few weeks look. Already some potential options are being thrown out there such as Trey Hendrickson, Jaelan Phillips, Bradley Chubb, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Keion White, and more.
It could be an ideal opportunity to land another young impact player for the future. But, the Panthers are taking the smart approach and seeing what they have in the young guys they have now first.
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