The road to recovery for Carolina Panthers outside linebacker D.J. Wonnum continues.
Head coach Dave Canales chatted with reporters after Tuesday’s session of team organized activities, one that did not feature projected starting outside linebackers Jadeveon Clowney and D.J. Wonnum. He was asked about the importance of the edge rushers, specifically Luiji Vilain and Eku Leota, who are there.
“Huge,” Canales replied. “So these are two guys that were with us—so some carryover there as far as just getting our calls, getting lined up properly. Both of those guys just being around, being familiar with the terminology is just really critical for us—especially with D.J. being out right now and Jadeveon, of course, just not being here right now. I can’t thank those guys enough for really carrying that along for us.”
Clowney and Wonnum both signed two-year deals with the Panthers this offseason. While the former’s absence can possibly be attributed to his veteran standing, the latter’s is a tad more complicated.
Canales went on to add that Wonnum, who tore his quadricep in the Minnesota Vikings’ Week 16 matchup against the Detroit Lions this past season, is still healing up.
“Just working through some different things,” he said of Wonnum. “He had some complications . . . he had a quadricep tendon rupture there. And so he had a repair and there was some different things they had to clean out. So it’s kinda just like this back-and-forth trying to get him as healthy as we can so we can get him on the field and get him back to full speed. So he’s still kinda working through some of those things.”
Wonnum, who posted a career-high 8.0 sacks in 2023, did not play in the final two games of the campaign.
