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The NFL is the ultimate what-have-you-done-for-me-lately business.
Injuries can derail even the most promising seasons for the mosttalented teams and playersand sometimes, they can never fully recover.
Just ask Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard, who earned a lucrative four-year contract extension in 2024having put up nearly 1,200 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground in 15 games.
Unfortunately, a calf injury late in the season ended his campaign, and he's never been the same since.
Last year, Hubbard was a shell of himselfposting just 511 rushing yards and one touchdown in 15 outings.
Heading into 2026, Pro Football Focus has Hubbard ranked just 27th at his position: Injuries, along with Rico Dowdles emergence, conspired to force Hubbard into arguably his least productive NFL season in 2025.
Including the postseason, he averaged just 3.8 yards per carry, while his 15 missed tackles forced were the third-fewest among all running backs with at least 100 attempts.
Dowdle has since departed to Pittsburgh, so Hubbard should have a prime opportunity to retake hold of his starting position.
Hubbard should have a chance to regain his old form at the beginning of the campaign.
But if he can't find it, the Panthers can't afford to wait long to supplant him in the starting lineup with Jonathon Brooks.
While a pair of ACL tears has limited Brooks to just 23 snaps in the pros, the 2024 second-round pick should be as healthy as can be come Week 1.
He's also garnered some early offseason buzz out of spring workouts.
The biggest element that was missing for Hubbard in 2025 was his explosiveness.
He managed only one broken tackle all season and just 242 total yards after contacta big drop from his 539 yards the previous year.
As it happens, this is the one area that Brooks excelled in best during his time at Texas.
Nevertheless, Hubbard deserves another opportunity to prove that he can be the running back he used to be.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers' Chuba Hubbard catches low ranking on PFF's starting RB list.