Amid a career year, Panthers jump early, extend top running back Chuba Hubbard

MUNICH, Germany — The Carolina Panthers have extended the contract of one of their best players on the offensive side of the ball.

The team announced Thursday that running back Chuba Hubbard was extended through the 2028 season. The four-year deal is worth a base value of $33.2 million, with $15 million in guaranteed money, a league source confirmed to The Charlotte Observer. NFL Network was the first to announce the terms of the deal.

“We are excited to sign Chuba to an extension and keep him in Carolina,” Panthers general manager Dan Morgan said in a statement. “He exemplifies everything we want on and off the field. Chuba is passionate about football, is productive and is committed to his teammates and winning.”

Hubbard, 25, was set to enter free agency this upcoming offseason. The 2021 fourth-round pick has spent his entire career with the Panthers.

“All I can really say is, ‘God is good,’ ” said Hubbard, smiling in the locker room after Thursday’s practice. He called the contract “life-changing.”

“I’m blessed,” he continued. “Worked my whole life for this to be able to come here in Carolina and be a part of the reshaping of this culture. It’s a blessing. Like I said, I’m speechless.”

It’s no secret Hubbard has been through a lot in his three-plus seasons with the Panthers — from multiple surgeries as a rookie, to starting each of the three seasons as RB2 before breaking out in 2023 and shining all 2024. He reflected on that journey Thursday.

“Coming into my rookie year, coming off groin surgery and knee surgery in the same year, and dealing with the struggles of getting my footing back and trying to build up my confidence, and just dealing with all the outside noise, it took dedication and a lot of hard work,” Hubbard said. “I’m thankful for the medical staff here. Thankful for the strength coaches and really everybody in this building. Everybody’s had my back since Day 1.”

Hubbard enters Week 10 as the league’s fifth-leading rusher with 665 rushing yards through nine games. He also has six total touchdowns — including five rushing touchdowns, which ties a single-season career high.

With Hubbard locked up for the foreseeable future, the Panthers will have a two-headed tandem of tailbacks in the backfield for years to come. Rookie second-round pick Jonathon Brooks was activated from the non-football injury (NFI) list on Wednesday. Brooks hasn’t played in a game since his time with the Texas Longhorns last November, when he tore his ACL and underwent surgery this past December.

Along with Brooks and Hubbard, the Panthers also have Miles Sanders and Raheem Blackshear on the roster at running back. Sanders is averaging just 19.7 snaps and 6.3 touches per game, so Brooks’ eventual return to the lineup could cause the veteran to take an even bigger backseat.

But with Hubbard and Brooks now in the team’s future plans, head coach Dave Canales can move forward with feeding the pair touches with regularity. That’s not a bad set up as the Panthers prepare to travel to Munich, Germany, for a matchup at Allianz Arena against the New York Giants.

“You want to be able to have multiple weapons, and we do in the running back room,” Hubbard said. “And that’s something that you can’t complain about. Blessed to be around guys with great talent and guys with great character.”

What Hubbard brings to Panthers offense

Panthers offensive coordinator Brad Idzik has known Hubbard since the NFL running back was a high schooler in Canada, “trucking guys and running around them” without much of a fuss. Idzik recalled his introduction to Hubbard on Thursday morning.

“When I was a GA (graduate assistant) at Stanford, I was 22 years old, first year of coaching, and part of my recruiting responsibilities was to scour the internet for guys who had good grades, finding good tape,” Idzik said. “And there was this guy up in Canada, playing on different surfaces, playing with a different level of talent, but he was just trucking guys and running around them. And I brought him to our staff. ...

“He doesn’t remember, but way back in the day, on Twitter, I DM’ed Chuba when I was 22 trying to see if I could get him to take an American standardized test and if he’d want to be a part of our offense at Stanford. I reminded him of that when I met him, that was in the spring.”

Hubbard didn’t end up going to Stanford. He instead went to Oklahoma State, where in just three seasons he finished as eighth in all-time rushing yards with 3,459 — behind guys like Barry Sanders and Thurman Thomas. But the two reconnected in the NFL, and Idzik is thankful to coach someone who is tenacious on the field and a leader in the locker room.

Idzik said that Hubbard does a “great job of putting action behind his words,” noting that after big runs Hubbard is regularly looking to the sideline to fire his teammates up — or after springing a big run, he’s pointing to linemen or receivers who initiated a key block.

He even at times is looking to the sidelines at the coaches. Last week, in a goal-line setting after the team got stuffed on first-and-goal from the 1, he had a simple message: “Call it again. Give me the rock again.” It yielded one of his two scores Sunday.

That leadership has impacted Brooks, who might make his debut on Sunday, and who has learned under Hubbard’s leadership. Idzik echoed what Morgan said Wednesday of being happy with his stable of running backs.

“(Chuba has) gotten our lion’s share so far,” Idzik said. “But the more extended drives, we get to couple all of our guys in there. Trying to find ways to get Miles the ball. Trying to find ways to get Jonathon the ball as he gets more comfortable with the speed of the game and just introducing him to the NFL world. Jonathon can do a little bit of everything, as really all three of those guys I’ve mentioned can. They’ve done a phenomenal job, so we don’t see a drop-off in scheme in stuff that we’re calling.

“We just see another good back that we can have in the fold, and Chuba’s just doing a great job of leading the charge, showing us how to finish runs.”