The Athletic’s Joe Person reports Panthers third-round WR Chris Brazzell II is getting season-ending surgery to repair his torn LCL after receiving a second opinion.
The rookie was initially expected to miss only eight weeks after going down with a knee injury in practice this week. However, Person says the team and the player ultimately decided surgery was the best option for his long-term future.
It’s another tough blow for the Panthers who started training camp before the rest of the league and already have a long list of players who will be on injured reserve or the PUP list in Week 1.
Brazzell, 22, was a three-star recruit and the 170th-ranked receiver in the 2022 recruiting class out of Midland, Texas. He committed to Tulane and remained there for two seasons before transferring to Tennessee for his last two years, where he earned third-team All-American & first-team All-SEC honors in 2025.
The Panthers selected Brazzell with the No. 83 overall pick in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft. He signed a four-year, $6,943,812 rookie contract that included a $1,510,044 signing bonus.
In his collegiate career, Brazzell appeared in 40 games over four seasons with Tulane and Tennessee. He caught 136 passes for 2,072 yards and 16 touchdowns.
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