Panthers’ Derrick Brown knee injury update will make fans uneasy

The Carolina Panthers just snuck into the playoffs last season despite finishing the regular season below .500, winning a very competitive but underwhelming NFC South division. Now, the Panthers are going from the hunters in the division to the hunted in 2026.

Despite reaching the playoffs, where they lost to the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card Round, the Panthers still have plenty of areas to improve if they want to get back to the postseason again in 2026. The biggest area of improvement is on defense, where Carolina must be stouter against the run and get after the quarterback at a better clip.

Unfortunately, a couple of injuries have already hurt that cause so far in training camp. Now, star defensive tackle Derrick Brown is dealing with a knee injury that the team is keeping an eye on, per Panthers beat writer Sheena Quick.

“Derrick Brown is working through some knee soreness that the team will continue to monitor,” Quick reported on X, formerly Twitter.

Brown’s impact on the game has always outweighed what he produces on the stat sheet, as his presence in the middle of the Carolina defense makes it much more difficult for opposing offenses to run the ball in between the tackles. Last season, he posted the best statistical season of his career with five sacks and five tackles for loss while playing in all 17 games.

The Panthers have already been hit with the injury bug on the defensive line during training camp. Promising second-year pass rusher Nic Scourton went down with a torn ACL that will cost him the entire 2026 season. Scourton was expected to be one of the leaders of the Carolina pass rush this season, so Dave Canales and company can’t afford to lose any more key pieces up front.

The good news is that it sounds like Brown is just dealing with a minor injury and that he should be back on the field soon. If he is, this Panthers defense is still on track to take a big step forward in 2026.

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