The Carolina Panthers’ backfield took another hit this week, and now the team is headed into its second preseason game with a familiar kind of uncertainty hanging over it.
Head coach Dave Canales said Thursday that Chuba Hubbard is dealing with a hamstring injury and is week-to-week. Carolina still hopes Hubbard can be back in time for the Week 1 opener against the Chicago Bears, but for now the Panthers are treating it carefully.
"We're on it," Canales said, via video from Joe Person of The Athletic. "He got a hamstring.
It’s a legit hamstring. It's week to week right now, the way we see it.
So we're going to get him in (return to participation protocol).
"We're going to get him some treatment. Very confident he'll be ready for game one.
Trying to get him out there sooner than that. But again, we'll be smart about it.
We'll get him back at the appropriate time."
That leaves Carolina thinner at running back just as Jonathan Brooks gets ready for his preseason debut. Brooks, a second-round pick in 2024, is working his way back after back-to-back ACL surgeries on his right knee.
Canales had already said Wednesday that he planned to play his starters Saturday night on the road against the Buffalo Bills, and that Brooks and Hubbard were expected to be part of that plan.
"He's in great shape; he's ready to rock -- he's ready to play football," he said. "That's just the next part of it, and he'll play with the first group. He'll mix in and out with Chuba and we'll be able to get a good look at those guys with a couple of drives.
"He'll mix in and out with Chuba Hubbard, and we'll be able to get a good look at those guys with a couple of drives."
Hubbard was Carolina’s second-leading rusher last season, finishing with 511 yards and one touchdown on 134 carries. Rico Dowdle led the Panthers with 1,076 yards and six touchdowns before leaving in free agency for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
With Hubbard sidelined, the Panthers’ preseason work has already leaned on other backs. In Carolina’s 33-30 win over the Arizona Cardinals in the Hall of Fame Game on Aug.
6, Miles Davis paced the ground game with 53 yards on four carries. AJ Dillon added 18 yards and a touchdown on three carries, and rookie Anthony Tyus III ran eight times for 19 yards.
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