Brooks spent the first eight games rehabbing from ACL surgery in November while at the University of Texas. The second-round pick would share the backfield with Chuba Hubbard and Miles Sanders if he is activated on the 53-man roster.
The younger players will start as veteran Andy Dalton continues to rehabilitate a sprained thumb on his throwing hand, which he suffered in a car accident. Dalton was a complete player in practice Wednesday and is expected to be Young’s backup.
“For me, it was taking the decision away from Andy,” said tutor Dave Canales. “If you asked Andy, ‘Could you go?’ He would say yes. And for me, he had a thumb injury about a week ago and I just want to make sure we get him back in the right state and in the right frame.
“And I’m excited that Bryce has another alternative to training on the topics we’ve talked about. Continuing to develop and get just what we talked about is helpful.”
This will be Young’s second start against the Saints. He completed 13 of 30 pass attempts for 161 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions in a 47-10 loss at New Orleans in Week 1.
He was replaced by Dalton after an 0-2 start, and didn’t make another start until Sunday in Denver. He completed 24 of 37 pass attempts for 224 yards with two touchdowns and had two interceptions in the 28-14 loss.
Brooks won’t start, but will take some reps behind Hubbard if he’s ready.
While there was speculation before the season that Brooks would ultimately make Hubbard expendable when he became a free agent after the season, the team appears committed to re-signing Hubbard to a long-term contract and keeping both running backs going forward. .
Canales said he wants to watch Brooks for a full week before committing to playing him on Sunday, but the window will end next Wednesday.
“I’m excited about him and making sure he’s safe and able to move forward,” Canales said. “So we’re going to build up a few more days here before we make that decision.”
Canales said he won’t make a decision on who will be the starting quarterback after Sunday until next week. Young said he’s taking his situation week by week, but he’s grateful for a second chance to face New Orleans.
Wednesday was the first day this season that the Panthers practiced without wide receiver Diontae Johnson, who was traded to the Baltimore Ravens on Tuesday.
“Just the power he has, the smarts to compete,” Younger said of Johnson. “He’s someone who always wanted to do his best during training camp or in games. He was always giving his all. “I have nothing but love for him.”
A league source said the Panthers began exploring the idea of trading Johnson weeks ago. There were two suitors at first, and the Ravens entered the picture a few days ago.
Canales declined to comment on whether Johnson’s locker room problems with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who traded the Pro Bowl receiver to Carolina in March, had anything to do with him leaving.
“All of these are problems that I am going to store internally,” Canales mentioned. “I hope you guys can recognize that phase.”
