Chuba Hubbard is stepping into a bigger role in Carolina, and now he’s carrying a bigger title too.
The Panthers named Hubbard a team captain ahead of the 2026 season, the first time he has earned that distinction in his career. It comes at a time when Carolina is preparing to lean heavily on him out of the backfield after Rico Dowdle left for the Pittsburgh Steelers in free agency. The Panthers will pair Hubbard with Jonathon Brooks at running back.
Hubbard’s 2025 season showed what he can do even in a secondary role. He ran for 511 yards and a touchdown on 134 carries, while also adding 30 catches for 223 yards and three scores.
Now the opportunity gets much larger. The 27-year-old is entering his sixth season in the league, all of it spent with Carolina, and his production has already shown what kind of ceiling he can reach when the workload climbs. In 2024, he put together the best season of his career, rushing for 1,195 yards and 10 touchdowns on 250 carries and catching 43 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown.
As a captain, Hubbard will be expected to lead in more ways than one - in the huddle, in the locker room and as the Panthers’ top runner.
Carolina is coming off a 2025 season that ended with its first playoff berth since Cam Newton was the starting quarterback. The Panthers won the NFC South with an 8-9 record before falling just short against the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card Game.
There’s reason for optimism again in Carolina, especially with Bryce Young and Tetairoa McMillan coming off productive years. Young completed 63.6 percent of his passes for 3,011 yards, 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 2025, while also rushing for 216 yards and two scores. He developed a strong connection with McMillan, who was named Offensive Rookie of the Year after finishing with 70 receptions for 1,014 yards and seven touchdowns.
With another year in the system, McMillan is expected to take another step forward. And with Hubbard now officially wearing a captain’s label, Carolina is counting on him to help set the tone for what comes next.
In Other News...
Panthers Backfield Plan Leaves Jonathon Brooks Facing A Familiar Problem
The Panthers are heading into the season with a backfield setup that should feel familiar to anyone who watched them last year. According to ESPNs Dan Graziano and offensive coordinator Ben Canales, Carolina plans to split carries between Chuba Hubbard and Jonathon Brooks, with Hubbard positioned to handle most of the work as long as he stays healthy. Brooks, meanwhile, is expected to mix in on third downs and in other situational spots, giving the room a layered but clearly defined hierarchy.
For Brooks, the arrangement leaves him in a role that looks a lot like what the Panthers already tried when Hubbard shared the load with Rico Dowdle. That split produced mixed results, and now Carolina is essentially betting it can get more out of the same kind of approach with a different cast of backs. The real question is whether Brooks can carve out a meaningful weekly role without the kind of steady volume that usually helps a young runner settle in. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Face A Bryce Young Decision That Could Define 2027
The Panthers have spent plenty of energy trying to build around Bryce Young, but the offense still feels like the part of the roster most likely to drag the team backward if things go wrong. Any slide could put Carolina in position to chase a top-10 pick in 2027, and that sort of outcome would force another hard look at how much progress has really been made since Young arrived and how much more help he still needs.
FOX Sports insider Rob Rang pushed that conversation into the draft lane with a mock projection that sends wide receiver Cam Coleman to Carolina as a possible way to keep Young supported. It is the kind of suggestion that reflects both hope and uncertainty around the quarterback spot, because the Panthers may soon have to decide whether another year of patience is the right answer or whether the clock on the Young era is already starting to get louder. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Final Roster Leaves One Big Question Before Week 1
The Panthers roster trim came with a few eye-openers, most notably the decision to move on from Isaiah Simmons and JaSeem Reed while seeing Wallace claimed by the Jets. Carolina also chose to keep several players who did not get much preseason run but were viewed as necessary pieces, including Bobby Okereke, Haynes King, AJ Dillon and Darren Waller, a sign that the front office was prioritizing fit and depth as much as summer evaluation.
Even after the 53-man roster was set, the bigger concern is what the group still lacks heading into Week 1. Wide receiver, running back, tight end and quarterback all remain spots where the Panthers do not look especially settled, which means the final cutdown may be complete but the roster conversation is not. For a team trying to avoid early-season scrambling, those unresolved holes are the kind that can shape September before the games even start. [Read more 🡒]