Hubbard was already playing well to start the season prior to Week 3, but he might be headed for stardom. Jonathon Brooks (abdomen) was placed on injured reserve, and Hubbard should dominate touches for the Panthers. I like him as a No. 1 Fantasy running back in all leagues in Week 3 at Cleveland. Hubbard had 10 carries for 49 yards and a touchdown and three catches for 38 yards and a touchdown on three targets in Week 1 against Chicago. He followed that up with 12 carries for 53 yards and two catches for 11 yards and a touchdown on two targets at Atlanta in Week 2. It's not like Brooks was doing much through two games, but he was the only other running back to get significant touches with Hubbard. Now, the No. 2 running back in Carolina is A.J. Dillon, and I don't see him doing much to hinder Hubbard's upside. The Browns have yet to allow a running back to score a touchdown, but Bhayshul Tuten had 88 total yards in Week 1, while Bucky Irving had 89 total yards in Week 2. I'm expecting Hubbard to have a standout performance, and Brooks being out is great for Hubbard's outlook for Week 3 and beyond.
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Panthers' Chuba Hubbard: Rings up receiving TD in win
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Hubbard rushed 12 times for 53 yards and brought in both targets for 11 yards and a touchdown in the Panthers' 34-3 win over the Falcons on Sunday.
Hubbard once again led the ground attack, outpacing backfield mate Jonathon Brooks (groin), who exited the game in the fourth quarter, by seven carries. Hubbard's most fantasy-friendly contribution of the afternoon came as a receiver, however, as he was on the other end of Bryce Young's first touchdown pass of the afternoon early in the first quarter. Hubbard has logged just 22 total carries over his first two games, but he's turned those into 102 yards and a touchdown and will be due for a larger workload Week 3 on the road against the Browns if Brooks is sidelined.
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Panthers' Chuba Hubbard: Finds end zone twice in Week 1 loss
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Hubbard carried the ball 10 times for 49 yards and a touchdown and caught all three of his targets for 38 yards and another score in Sunday's 59-37 loss to the Bears.
In the highest-scoring Week 1 game in NFL history, Hubbard did his part to keep Carolina competitive, opening the scoring with a four-yard grab in the first quarter and adding a two-yard TD plunge in the third. Hubbard also out-paced Jonathon Brooks in touch volume, getting 13 to the younger back's five as he tightened his grip on the No. 1 spot on the depth chart. Hubbard will look to stay productive in Week 2 on the road against the Falcons.
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Panthers' Chuba Hubbard: Not listed on injury report
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Hubbard (hamstring) was not listed on the Panthers' injury report Wednesday.
Hubbard dealt with a hamstring injury last month but has been practicing since the calendar flipped to September. With Jonathon Brooks dealing with soreness in his groin for the past week and limited in practice, Hubbard looks like the frontrunner for carries and touches out of the Carolina backfield to open the season. He's shaping up as a low-end RB2 against Chicago on Sunday.
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Panthers' Chuba Hubbard: Remains on track for Week 1
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Hubbard (hamstring) remains on track for Week 1, according to Steve Reed of the Associated Press.
It was reported earlier in August that Hubbard was on track to suit up for Carolina's season opener, and per head coach Dave Canales he remains on track to do so. Should Hubbard suit up for Week 1 as anticipated, he and Jonathon Brooks will work in a committee, per Joe Person of The Athletic.
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Panthers' Chuba Hubbard: Week-to-week with hamstring issue
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Hubbard (hamstring) is considered week-to-week, head coach Dave Canales revealed Thursday, Mike Kaye of ESPN.com reports.
Hubbard had been practicing without limitations but evidently sustained a hamstring injury in the lead-up to Carolina's second preseason game against the Bills on Saturday. The 27-year-old running back is unlikely to suit up during the preseason based on this timetable, and Hubbard's availability for the Sept. 13 regular-season opener will need to be monitored ahead of Week 1. Jonathon Brooks had been gaining momentum in Carolina's backfield competition even prior to Hubbard's injury. The Panthers also have Trevor Etienne, AJ Dillon, Anthony Tyus and Miles Davis in the backfield.
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Panthers' Chuba Hubbard: Set to reclaim key backfield role
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Hubbard approaches training camp in a position to secure the lead role in Carolina's 2026 backfield, Mike Kaye of the Charlotte Observer reports.
With last year's rushing leader Rico Dowdle now with the Steelers, Hubbard will have an opportunity to bounce back from a forgettable 2025 campaign in which injuries contributed to him logging just 511 yards on 134 carries in 15 regular-season contests, after he racked up 1,195 rushing yards on 250 carries in 2024. Also in the mix for backfield work this season will be Jonathon Brooks, who is rebounding from back-to-back ACL surgeries, as well as 2025 fourth-rounder Trevor Etienne. Assuming Hubbard can avoid the injury bug, he figures to see steady volume out of the gate, but Brooks represents a significant threat to his spot atop the depth chart if he's able to prove he's healthy.
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Panthers' Chuba Hubbard: Meager production on seven touches
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Hubbard rushed five times for 10 yards and secured both targets for seven yards in the Panthers' 16-14 loss to the Buccaneers on Saturday.
Hubbard's day was as unproductive as his line suggests, although backfield mate Rico Dowdle fared even worse on the ground (1.4 yards per carry). Hubbard's production saw a significant downturn in 2025 compared to the last two seasons, as a two-game absence in Weeks 5-6 opened the door for Dowdle to take over the lead-back role for an extended period. Hubbard finishes the regular season with 511 rushing yards (3.8 yards per carry) and one touchdown while adding a 30-223-3 receiving line across 15 games, and he'll remain in a timeshare with Dowdle in the wild-card round if the Panthers qualify for the postseason via a Falcons win over the Saints on Sunday.
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Panthers' Chuba Hubbard: Logs seven touches in win
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Hubbard rushed six times for 27 yards and brought in his only target for seven yards in the Panthers' 23-20 win over the Buccaneers on Sunday.
Hubbard logged three fewer carries than Rico Dowdle but gained just two less rushing yards, although neither back made a significant impact fantasy-wise. Hubbard surprisingly broke out for an 83-yard showing on the ground against the Chargers three games ago, but otherwise, he's been capped overall by having to share time with Dowdle. The duo will likely continue working in a close timeshare during a Week 17 home matchup against a tough Seahawks defense.
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Panthers' Chuba Hubbard: Held to 38 yards
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Hubbard rushed the ball eight times for 29 yards in Sunday's 20-17 loss to the Saints. He added one reception on one target for nine yards.
Hubbard looked to be regaining momentum in the Carolina backfield, but he operated as a clear secondary option to Rico Dowdle in Sunday's loss. Hubbard managed only nine touches compared to 17 for Dowdle, and he's now been held below 50 yards from scrimmage in six of the Panthers' last seven games.
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Panthers' Chuba Hubbard: Sleeper RBs
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I'm curious to see how the Panthers use Hubbard and Rico Dowdle in Week 15 against the Saints after what happened in their last game in Week 13. Hubbard was the best running back against the Rams with 17 carries for 83 yards and two catches for 41 yards and a touchdown on two targets. But Dowdle still had 18 carries for 58 yards and two catches for 21 yards on two targets. Dowdle is expected to remain the lead running back of this tandem, and I would still start him as a No. 2 running back in all leagues. As for Hubbard, he's worth using as a flex, and hopefully both running backs are productive in this game. New Orleans has allowed a running back to score at least 12.7 PPR points in five games in a row, and I expect the Panthers to lean on both running backs in this matchup.
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Panthers' Chuba Hubbard: Tops 100 scrimmage yards in win
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Hubbard carried the ball 17 times for a team-high 83 yards and caught both his targets for 41 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 31-28 win over the Rams.
The fifth-year running back topped 100 scrimmage yards for the first time all season and got into the end zone for the first time since Week 8. He turned a screen pass into a 35-yard TD in the first quarter for Carolina's first points of the afternoon. Hubbard's touch volume also tied his season high, and with Rico Dowdle (58 rushing yards on 18 carries) struggling to make an impact in recent weeks, the workload split in the Panthers backfield may be tipping back in Hubbard's favor. The team will be on bye next week, so clarity in the pecking order likely won't come until a Week 15 clash with the Saints.
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Panthers' Chuba Hubbard: Five touches as backup
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Hubbard carried the ball five times for 17 yards and failed to catch his only target in Sunday's 16-13 win over the Packers.
As expected, Rico Dowdle took over as the No. 1 back for Carolina rather than working in a timeshare with Hubbard, and he turned 25 totes into 130 rushing yards and two TDs. It's the first time Hubbard has failed to get double-digit carries in a game when healthy since Week 1 of 2024, but it likely won't be the last as Dowdle continues to build job security in the starting role. Hubbard's best chance of making an impact in Week 10 might be if the Panthers can build a big lead at home against the Saints, offering the potential for some garbage-time touches.
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Panthers' Chuba Hubbard: Sleeper RBs
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Rico Dowdle should be considered a No. 2 Fantasy running back in all leagues in Week 7 against Buffalo, but I like Hubbard as a flex as well. In his first game back from a two-game absence with a calf injury in Week 7 at the Jets, Hubbard had 14 carries for 31 yards and two catches for 24 yards on three targets. He played more snaps than Dowdle (38-33), which is something to monitor, and we should see an even split against the Bills. Buffalo is No. 6 in most Fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs, and twice this season, a pair of running backs have scored at least 10.8 PPR points against the Bills in the same game (New Orleans in Week 4 and Atlanta in Week 6). We could see Dowdle and Hubbard follow suit in Week 8.
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Panthers' Chuba Hubbard: Appears set to lose work to Dowdle
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Head coach Dave Canales hinted Monday that Hubbard is likely to cede more carries to Rico Dowdle, Steve Reed of the Associated Press reports. "Chuba has meant a lot to this organization and certainly to the identity that we want to build and we wanted to give him the opportunity to go out there and to continue to impact our team in a positive way," Canales said. "But we cannot ignore the fact that Rico has been exceptional. ... We love tempo and violence that he is running with. These are things we are looking back on the last four games and really taking a snapshot of what has been successful for us."
Carolina has more of a financial commitment to Hubbard after inking him to a four-year, $33.2 million extension last November, but Dowdle's stellar results over the past four weeks have made it difficult for Canales to justify a two-pronged approach in the backfield. While Hubbard was sidelined in Weeks 5 and 6 with a calf injury, Dowdle racked up 473 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns in wins over the Dolphins and Cowboys. The offseason signing has continued to thrive while being used in a timeshare with Hubbard over the past two games, averaging 5.3 yards on his 25 carries, more than doubling up the incumbent's average of 2.5 yards on 26 totes. Hubbard isn't expected to disappear from Carolina's game plan completely and could even continue to make what amount to ceremonial starts, but Canales' comments indicate that Dowdle is viewed as the team's clear top option on the ground heading into Sunday's game in Green Bay.
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Panthers' Chuba Hubbard: Even split with Dowdle
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Hubbard recorded 14 rushes for 31 yards in Sunday's 13-6 win over the Jets. He added two receptions on three targets for 24 yards.
Hubbard returned from a two-game absence and drew every touch on Carolina's first offensive possession. He went on to alternate drives with Rico Dowdle for the entire game, which naturally led to a near-even split in touches. Hubbard was far less efficient, as Dowdle outgained him, 96-55. It remains to be seen if that affects Hubbard's usage moving forward, but he managed to maintain a significant role in Carolina's offense despite Dowdle's strong showing during his absence.
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Panthers' Chuba Hubbard: Cleared for return
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Hubbard (calf) doesn't have an injury designation for Sunday's game at the Jets, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.
The remaining question is how the Panthers split work between Hubbard and Rico Dowdle, the latter of whom ran for 389 yards over the past two games (both wins) while Hubbard was out. Head coach Dave Canales hasn't been helpful on that front, merely noting that Dowdle has earned the right to maintain a role. Dowdle already had a role, of course, getting between seven and 11 touches in Weeks 2 through 4 when Hubbard was the starter. In light of his consecutive big performances, Dowdle could take on a larger portion of the workload, but the Panthers probably won't provide hints on the specifics before Sunday's game.
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Panthers' Chuba Hubbard: Limited at practice again
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Hubbard (calf) was a limited participant in Thursday's practice.
Hubbard has now logged back-to-back limited practice sessions, and he said Thursday that he plans to suit up for Sunday's game at the Jets, per David Newton of ESPN.com. Rico Dowdle has been sensational as the Panthers' fill-in starter across the span of Hubbard's two-game absence, however, so it remains to be seen who backfield snaps will be divvied up if both players take the field Week 7. If Hubbard can upgrade to a full practice session Friday, he could avoid an injury designation entirely for Sunday's contest.
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Panthers' Chuba Hubbard: Aiming to play Sunday
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Hubbard (calf) said Thursday that he expects to suit up for Sunday's game at the Jets, David Newton of ESPN.com reports.
Following a two-game absence due to a calf injury, Hubbard got back on the practice field as a limited participant Wednesday and was donning full pads one day later. His activity level Thursday is unknown, but he appears to be trending toward a return to action this weekend. If the preceding comes to pass, the breakdown of RB reps between Hubbard and fill-in starter Rico Dowdle will be of interest considering the latter reeled off 473 yards from scrimmage and two total TDs on 60 touches while the former was sidelined.
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Panthers' Chuba Hubbard: Back in limited capacity
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Hubbard (calf) practiced in a limited fashion Wednesday.
This marks Hubbard's first on-field work since Week 4 prep, as he sat out Weeks 5 and 6 due to a calf injury. Coach Dave Canales told Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer on Wednesday that Hubbard looked "great," but he likely will need to string together multiple practices in a row in order to put himself in a position to play Sunday at the Jets. Assuming Hubbard is back in action this weekend, the Panthers are expected to keep both him and Rico Dowdle, who has sprung for 473 yards from scrimmage and two total TDs on 60 touches the last two games, involved in the offense, though who would have the upper hand between them remains to be seen, per Dan Graziano of ESPN.com.
