NFL Trade Rumors: Carolina Panthers Pro Bowl DT Derrick Brown Suffers Major Knee Injury

Week 1 couldn't have gone much worse for the Carolina Panthers. According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, Panthers Pro Bowl defensive tackle Derrick Brown suffered a meniscus tear in yesterday's 47-10 loss to the New Orleans Saints that may require season-ending surgery.

#Panthers Pro Bowl DL Derrick Brown suffered a potentially season-ending knee injury in Sunday’s loss to the #Saints, per sources.

The meniscus injury will require surgery, which will determine the exact timeline. A brutal blow in Week 1. pic.twitter.com/CHtGjtlXFK
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 9, 2024

Brown's injury did not seem particularly concerning at the time; he played 68 total snaps despite the game being a blowout and left the field under his own power. Clearly, some discomfort after the fact must have revealed the extent of the injury.

It's a devastating blow for the Panthers. Brown is arguably their premier player. They selected him seventh overall in the 2020 NFL draft and recently inked him to a four-year, $96 million extension, making him comfortably their highest-paid player. He is one of the few cornerstone players on a team bereft of talent, and his absence in the middle will have ramifications at all levels of their defense.

It's been a miserable calendar year for the Panthers. Their 2023 season went up in flames due to the struggles of rookie quarterback Bryce Young, who averaged a pitiful 4.07 net yards per passing attempt for the league's lowest-scoring offense. Famously, the Panthers traded what eventually turned into the 2024 NFL Draft's first-overall pick to acquire Young, so they didn't even benefit from his growing pains.

The Panthers' 2024 season is off to an even more disastrous start. Young showed little promise in the blowout, netting 135 passing yards on 34 dropbacks and throwing a pair of interceptions. As things stand, the Panthers' defense will also be without its best player for the foreseeable future. Barring a miraculous turnaround, the Bryce Young era has a chance to become the biggest debacle in franchise history.