# Fox Sports: The piece reports, citing ESPN, that Carolina is expected to sign veteran running back Austin Ekeler with Jonathon Brooks sidelined. **Claimed:** Sep 23, 2026 **Pundit:** Fox Sports — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/fox-sports **Outlet:** Fox Sports — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/fox-sports **How it reached us:** published in writing **Original:** https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/carolina-panthers-jonathon-brooks-austin-ekeler-injury-surgery One checkable claim, graded on its own against what actually happened. It names 2 players and teams, each linked to their own record. Nothing to score yet: this grades once the result is in. > The Panthers are expected to bring Ekeler onboard with Brooks out, per ESPN . *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Austin Ekeler to move to Carolina Panthers** - Kind: Trade and Signing Calls · About: Austin Ekeler, Carolina Panthers - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - Austin Ekeler — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/austin-ekeler - Carolina Panthers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/panthers ## What others said about the same people - Zach Roberts on Corey Thornton: Roberts projects the Carolina Panthers' 53-man roster following the Hall of Fame Game, naming every player they expect to make the team at each position, and pegs AJ Dillon as the fourth running back on the depth chart. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/eef72be3-9114-401b-a6e8-2ffc335cc7fb (scored 100) - Nick Wright on Carolina Panthers: Wright made several outright game calls for Week 9 alongside their spread picks: Kansas City beating the Jets 31-20, Detroit winning at Miami, New England edging Green Bay by a field goal or so, Carolina winning outright over Denver, and Houston blowing out the Chargers 27-12. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/14c1f8dd-d8ff-498f-b705-4b468ff964f8 (scored 0) - Mitchell Eisenstein on Carolina Panthers: Mitchell gave their Week 9 top-five power rankings, keeping Buffalo first and the 49ers second while elevating the Bears, Jaguars and Lions, and picked a slate of Week 9 games including a Packers win in New England, a Panthers upset of Denver, and blowouts for Detroit, Kansas City and Houston. They also tabbed Jonah Coleman as a late-season Offensive Rookie of the Year pick. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/6a1c5f64-cb1f-4e3d-846c-281720efb544 (scored 42.86) - Cody Rourke on Carolina Panthers: Rourke predicts the Broncos finish 13-4 in 2026, going 4-2 over a brutal opening six games, sweeping Kansas City again, and losing only at San Francisco, at home to Seattle, at Carolina and on Christmas Day to Buffalo. They also expect Carolina to return to the playoffs. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/129244f8-9c9e-4e2a-917c-bc2c74cfee05 (scored 0) - Chris Simms on Carolina Panthers: After the Bears beat the Patriots on Thursday night, Simms said they wouldn't be shocked to see the two meet in the Super Bowl, and then gave predicted final scores for every Week 7 game, including Seattle over Kansas City on Sunday night and Dallas winning in Philadelphia. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/00bbce33-10f7-44e0-b3c0-076e6bc74841 (scored 2.38) - Connor Rogers on Carolina Panthers: Rogers picked winners for every Week 7 game, taking the Chiefs to win in Seattle, the Packers to upset the Lions in Detroit and Dallas to win in Philadelphia, and said they don't expect a banged-up Arizona running back to play. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/3ef360c7-68b4-41c2-841b-d77052cca866 (scored 0) ## More trade and signing calls The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Chris Clark on Nikko Remigio: Clark expects the Chiefs to bring back exclusive-rights receiver Nico (Remigio) and long snapper James Winchester, to re-sign JuJu Smith-Schuster as a cheap veteran fifth receiver, and not to bring back Hollywood Brown, Josh Dobbs-type depth, Gardner Minshew, Janarius Robinson or Mike Caliendo; they also say the Chiefs will not use a franchise tag and believes Bryan Cook won't return. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/99521265-d5c0-4db1-b2a0-fe77908ea0b3 (scored 0) - Nate Gosney on Daiyan Henley: After the Broncos rescinded the trade, Gosney expects Daiyan Henley to remain with the Chargers for the rest of the 2026 season, but believes the awkward fallout has effectively killed any chance of them signing a new contract with Los Angeles after the season. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/60272861-4ad0-4749-b36a-dcdf09b9213f (scored 0) - Logan Lazarczyk on Kirk Cousins: Ahead of the trade deadline, they float three Raiders moves: shipping Kirk Cousins to Minnesota if the Vikings offer a second-round pick, selling Maxx Crosby to Dallas for a first-rounder plus, and acquiring Jaguars receiver Brian Thomas Jr. for a second- or third-round pick. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/d0fd408a-7dcd-4e50-ac62-6b4510a8a800 (scored 100) - Logan Lazarczyk on Kirk Cousins: Lazarczyk expects the Raiders to be sellers before the trade deadline, suggesting Kirk Cousins could be dealt back to the Vikings and that benched interior lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson is a prime candidate to be traded somewhere. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/fda03952-2ea6-4919-8114-0ebb127478d1 (scored 100) - Patricia Traina on J.J. McCarthy: Traina expects defensive tackle to be a top need for the Giants in next year's draft, and suggests the Giants could trade J.J. McCarthy next offseason — or keep both them and Jaxson Dart if the return isn't good enough. They also expect Dart to make a full recovery. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b638ed13-01ca-4ea6-9384-ec7130f912c1 (scored 100) - Michael David Smith on Keenan Allen: Smith suggests the Colts are likely to grant Josh Downs' trade request given their contract situation and their recent sell-off, and that they could also try to trade Keenan Allen. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/52d7108f-f754-44e8-9bf3-cc3336b4e5f7 (scored 100) --- Accuracy is 0-100 against what actually happened. The naive guess is what a strategy requiring no knowledge would have scored on the same call — the difference is the skill, and it is what the MissedTakes Score averages. Full method: https://missedtakes.co/methodology We summarize what a pundit said and quote a short span for attribution; we never republish their article. If this is wrong, tell us: https://missedtakes.co/corrections?pundit=fox-sports