D.J. Wonnum News: Past back issue

Wonnum (back) finished Friday's 30-10 preseason loss against the Browns with one assisted tackle.

Wonnum worked with the first-team defense and ended up playing 11 snaps. The 2020 fourth-rounder was tending to a back injury during the offseason, but he appears past the issue given his ability to play Friday. Wonnum missed the first nine games of the 2024 regular season due to a lingering quadriceps injury but managed to finish with 37 tackles (18 solo), including 4.0 sacks, one pass defense and one forced fumble across eight games. The Panthers' preseason depth chart has Wonnum starting at outside linebacker alongside Patrick Jones, Trevin Wallace and Christian Rozeboom.