Jan. 16, 2026, 12:30 p.m. ET
Carolina Panthers outside linebacker Pat Jones II was almost a surprise entrant in the NFL’s playoff rumble. But the clock ran out.
Following the Panthers’ wild-card round loss to the Los Angeles Rams last weekend, Jones revealed that he was nearing a return from his back injury. Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer chatted with the fifth-year veteran, who believed he might’ve been a few weeks off of an unlikely comeback.
“I feel like I was getting real close,” Jones told Kaye. “It was definitely something we were taking day by day, but it was definitely something I was looking forward to each game. Keep going and each game we had, I would have been closer and closer.”
Jones was sidelined following Carolina’s Week 6 win over the Dallas Cowboys. He’d undergo back surgery to repair a herniated disk, a procedure that kept him out of the team’s final 12 games.
The Panthers signed Jones to a two-year deal last offseason.
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Before the setback, Jones started in each of his four outings—totaling nine tackles and a sack.
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