Panthers shut down key player for season due to injury

Sep 8, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Detailed view of the Carolina Panthers helmet against the New Orleans Saints during the pregame at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The Carolina Panthers are shutting down one of their most productive offensive players for the final two games of the regular season.

Running back Chuba Hubbard is being placed on injured reserve with injuries to his calf and knee. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Hubbard is dealing with a Grade 2 calf strain, prompting the Panthers to sit him for the rest of the year.

A Friday night MRI on Chuba Hubbard revealed a season-ending Grade 2 calf strain. https://t.co/qCRMByNZtr

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 28, 2024

Hubbard has easily been Carolina’s most consistently productive player all season. He finishes up his year with 1,195 rushing yards and 11 total touchdowns in what functioned as something of a breakout season for him. He is fresh off one of his best games of the year, which saw him tally 152 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the team’s Week 16 win over Arizona.

The Panthers are well out of the playoff race, so this will not impact them too much. That said, they had been playing better in the last two months or so, and this could impact their ability to play spoiler to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons over the final two weeks of the season.