The Carolina Panthers locked running back Chuba Hubbard down for the foreseeable future when they signed him to a four-year, $33.2M contract extension this past November.
During a recent chat with Panthers reporter David Newton of ESPN, Hubbard revealed the major goal he has in mind heading into his second season of working with head coach Dave Canales.
“I want to be the best,” Hubbard said. “I want to be great, chasing something that only I know I can obtain and I can achieve. Needless to say, I want to win games. I want to win a Super Bowl. I want my teammates to have that stuff, as well.”
Logic suggests a Panthers team that’s coming off a 5-12 season won’t be part of conversations regarding Super Bowl LX by the time January 2026 comes around. As of Monday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the 2025 Panthers as +230 betting underdogs to reach the playoffs. That said, one can’t blame Hubbard for feeling optimistic about what’s to come after the Panthers won four of their final nine contests with previously benched quarterback Bryce Young in the lineup.
Per ESPN stats, Hubbard finished the 2024 regular season ranked eighth in the NFL with 1,195 rushing yards and 13th with 10 rushing touchdowns. Both were career highs for the 26-year-old who missed the campaign’s final two games with knee and calf injuries.
Truth be told, Hubbard may have cost himself some money by inking his extension ahead of Thanksgiving rather than following Week 18.
“From where I come from, the money I got is more than life-changing,” Hubbard said about his deal. “It’s generational. All I can say is it came at the perfect timing. I’m not really looking at it like I should have waited two games later or whatever. Things happen the way they do for a reason.”
This offseason, the Panthers signed former Dallas Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle before Carolina drafted ball-carrier Trevor Etienne in the fourth round. ESPN stats show that Dowdle led the 2024 Cowboys with 1,079 rushing yards.
Nevertheless, it sounds like Hubbard will remain his team’s RB1 through at least the start of the upcoming campaign.
“He sets a standard for [the running back] room and certainly for the offense, even in the walk-throughs,” Canales recently said about Hubbard. “He knows what we’re looking for and how we want it to feel, and so he just kind of champions the cause.”
