Austin Ekeler is not done, and the Carolina Panthers are the reason why.
Ekeler is working out for the Panthers on Wednesday, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC. The veteran running back has been medically cleared after tearing his Achilles with the Washington Commanders last season, and he has been sitting unsigned since the spring.
Why nobody called
The Achilles is the whole explanation. Ekeler went the entire offseason without a contract, and it was not because teams forgot who he is. Running backs in their thirties coming off Achilles tears are the single hardest sell in the sport.
He has not had a fully healthy season since 2024, when he was a second-team All-Pro for his work as a kick returner. That is a real accolade, and it is also the kind of accolade that tells you a player’s primary value has shifted away from carrying the football.
For his career, Ekeler has 4,765 rushing yards and 73 total touchdowns. His peak came with the Chargers, where he put together three separate seasons of at least 1,500 all-purpose yards and was one of the most productive receiving backs in football.
Carolina has an actual opening
The timing here is not an accident. Chuba Hubbard is leading the Panthers backfield and is fine in that role, but Jonathon Brooks is out for possibly six weeks with a core muscle injury. That leaves Carolina thin behind Hubbard at exactly the moment a cleared veteran hits the market.
Ekeler would not be asked to be a workhorse. He would be a reserve and a third-down option, which is close to the job he had in Washington before the injury ended his year.
That is a realistic fit, and realistic fits are how 31-year-old running backs get back on rosters.
The catch
A workout is a workout. Teams bring in veterans every week and most of them go home. Carolina is going to be looking at explosion numbers and change-of-direction work, because an Achilles does not care about what a player used to be able to do.
If the burst is there, Ekeler is a useful addition to a team that needs pass-protection reliability and a back who can win on option routes. If the burst is gone, the Panthers will say nice things and sign somebody off another practice squad.
This is the window
Week 3 is roughly when NFL teams stop pretending injuries will sort themselves out and start signing veterans. Ekeler waited out the offseason, waited out camp, and waited out two weeks of the regular season for a phone call. He got one.
If this does not turn into a contract, the next call probably does not come. Carolina is the shot.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.