Panthers place RB Chuba Hubbard on IR

Chuba HubbardThe outstanding season came to an early end. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Panthers are placing the running back on injured reserve.

Hubbard is coming off a Week 16 performance in which he rushed for 152 yards and two touchdowns en route to earning NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. The RB showed up on the injury report this week with a knee injury and there was some optimism that he would play tomorrow. However, the RB underwent an MRI after experiencing increased pain during practice on Friday and was ultimately diagnosed with a Grade 2 calf strain (per the team).

The former fourth-round pick began his career as a backup player Christian McCaffreybut it didn’t take long for the substitute to find his way into the starting line-up. Hubbard started 10 of his 17 appearances as a rookie, but finished with just 786 yards from scrimmage. When McCaffrey was traded during the 2022 season, Hubbard found himself on the back foot D’Onta Foreman on the depth chart, and the team brought in Miles Sanders in 2023 to support the distribution of position representatives.

While Hubbard became the preferred RB in 2023, he still only managed 1,135 yards from scrimmage while averaging 4.1 yards per touch. When the Panthers were drafted Jonathan Brooks In the second round of this year’s draft, it seemed likely that Hubbard would keep the seat warm until the rookie was ready to return from a torn ACL.

Instead, Hubbard ended up taking the starting gig. The fourth-year RB started all 15 games for Carolina this season and has already set career highs in yards from scrimmage (1,366) and touchdowns (11). Thanks to that performance, the Panthers gave him a four-year contract extension worth $33.2 million ($15 million guaranteed) in November.

Brooks suffered the same ACL tear earlier this month, leaving his status for 2025 in question. Hubbard should be back at the top of the depth chart next season, but the Panthers could use the next few weeks to evaluate their replacement options. Raheem Blackshear could temporarily slide to the top of the depth chart Velus Jones Jr. and training squad RB Mike Boone also about that deep.