Patrick Jones Injury: Recovering from surgery

Jones (back) is recovering well from his herniated disk surgery and could have returned to the field this season if the Panthers had made a deeper playoff run, Mike Kaye reports.

Jones has been on injured reserve since the Panthers' Week 6 win over the Cowboys. The linebacker said he felt, "like I was getting real close" to an end-of-season return. Now that the Panthers have been eliminated from Super Bowl contention, Jones will have a full offseason to work back from his back injury and be ready for the 2026 season.