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Running back Chuba Hubbard may not have wanted to become the Carolina Panthers' version of Wally Pipp.
The fifth-year rusher spoke with reporters from his locker on Tuesday. He touched on the effects of his calf injury—which has not only hampered his performance here in 2025, but has also led to his demotion.
"I think, in all honesty, I'm a competitor and when I came back from my calf, I wasn't maybe quite where I wanted to be," Hubbard stated. "Obviously, in the league, you're never gonna be 100 percent. I just wanna be there for my team. So maybe rushed it back a little sooner than I should have—which is my own doing."
Initial signs of the injury popped up after Carolina's loss to the New England Patriots in Week 4. Hubbard would then be sidelined for the following contests against the Miami Dolphins and Dallas Cowboys in Weeks 5 and 6.
His absence gave way to Rico Dowdle, who went on to accumulate 473 scrimmage yards—the most in franchise history over a two-game span—in a pair of wins.
Hubbard returned in Week 7, where he took back the starting role in a shared backfield with Dowdle. But he struggled—running for 65 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries while Dowdle rushed for 133 yards on 25 totes.
Dowdle was named the starter once again in Week 9, and paid back the decision by dashing the Green Bay Packers for 130 yards and two touchdowns in a shocking 16-13 upset. Since then, Hubbard has recorded 12 rushing attempts to Dowdle's 62.
He, however, did go on to say that he's feeling closer to himself.
"I kinda had, not to get into the details of what exactly was going on with my calf, but I had a few different things going on with it," Hubbard said. "And it was just kinda hard to explain some of the stuff that I was dealing with. But over the last few weeks, it's definitely gotten better and just kinda continue to build my confidence off that."
Hubbard averaged 5.3 yards per carry, his highest of the campaign, in this past Sunday's 30-27 win against the Atlanta Falcons.
Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content.
This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers RB Chuba Hubbard gets honest about his calf injury
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The fifth-year rusher spoke with reporters from his locker on Tuesday. He touched on the effects of his calf injury—which has not only hampered his performance here in 2025, but has also led to his demotion.
"I think, in all honesty, I'm a competitor and when I came back from my calf, I wasn't maybe quite where I wanted to be," Hubbard stated. "Obviously, in the league, you're never gonna be 100 percent. I just wanna be there for my team. So maybe rushed it back a little sooner than I should have—which is my own doing."
Initial signs of the injury popped up after Carolina's loss to the New England Patriots in Week 4. Hubbard would then be sidelined for the following contests against the Miami Dolphins and Dallas Cowboys in Weeks 5 and 6.
His absence gave way to Rico Dowdle, who went on to accumulate 473 scrimmage yards—the most in franchise history over a two-game span—in a pair of wins.
Hubbard returned in Week 7, where he took back the starting role in a shared backfield with Dowdle. But he struggled—running for 65 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries while Dowdle rushed for 133 yards on 25 totes.
Dowdle was named the starter once again in Week 9, and paid back the decision by dashing the Green Bay Packers for 130 yards and two touchdowns in a shocking 16-13 upset. Since then, Hubbard has recorded 12 rushing attempts to Dowdle's 62.
He, however, did go on to say that he's feeling closer to himself.
"I kinda had, not to get into the details of what exactly was going on with my calf, but I had a few different things going on with it," Hubbard said. "And it was just kinda hard to explain some of the stuff that I was dealing with. But over the last few weeks, it's definitely gotten better and just kinda continue to build my confidence off that."
Hubbard averaged 5.3 yards per carry, his highest of the campaign, in this past Sunday's 30-27 win against the Atlanta Falcons.
Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content.
This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers RB Chuba Hubbard gets honest about his calf injury
Continue reading...
