Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard is “week-to-week” with a hamstring injury, head coach Dave Canales told Joe Person of The Athletic and other reporters on Thursday. Canales added that he is “very confident” Hubbard will be ready for the Panthers’ Sept. 13 season opener against the Bears.
Midway through the best season of his career in 2024, Hubbard inked a four-year, $33.2MM extension with the Panthers. He went on to finish the year with personal bests in carries (250), yards (1,195), touchdowns (10) and receptions (43) in 15 games. Hubbard was unable to approach that production in 2025, though, and he lost lead back duties to Rico Dowdle as a result. Across 15 games and 134 carries, Hubbard ran for 511 yards (3.8 YPC, down from 4.8 the prior season) and a TD. He also saw his catch total drop to 30.
Hubbard is back atop the Panthers’ depth chart after they lost Dowdle to Pittsburgh in free agency, but this hamstring issue should create even more opportunities for Jonathon Brooks in the preseason. The Panthers took Brooks 46th overall in 2024, making him the first RB off the board in that draft class, but injuries have rendered him a non-factor so far.
Brooks tore his right ACL at Texas in November 2023, and following a year-long recovery, he made his NFL debut in Week 12. However, after totaling a meager nine carries and 22 yards over three games, Brooks tore his right ACL again in a game against the Eagles. Brooks missed all of last season while rehabbing, but he has gone unscathed since he received medical clearance in late April. With Hubbard’s stock down from where it was two years ago and Dowdle no longer in Carolina, Brooks may be in for a big role in 2026 if he stays healthy.
Turning to the defensive side, Canales confirmed earlier this week that linebackers Trevin Wallace and Claudin Cherelus are competing to start alongside big-ticket free agent addition Devin Lloyd (via Mike Kaye of ESPN). Wallace, a third-rounder in the same draft class as Brooks, missed four games as a rookie and five last year thanks to shoulder problems. When healthy, though, he has mainly been a first-teamer.
As a full-time starter in 12 games last season, Wallace totaled 61 tackles, four passes defensed, four quarterback hits and two sacks. Wallace made his last appearance of the year on Dec. 14, and he underwent shoulder surgery a couple of weeks later. He is now in danger of falling behind Cherelus, a three-year veteran who has made just six starts in 33 games.
Elsewhere in their linebacking corps, the Panthers took a late-July gut punch when OLB Nic Scourton tore his ACL in camp. The NFLPA then reviewed video of the injury to see if the Panthers followed “no-live contact guidelines during (the) 5-day acclimation (period).” The union has since concluded that the Panthers did nothing wrong, a source told Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. The investigation is closed.