It may look like a shot at a win for the Carolina Panthers in Week 5, but they still have issues at the quarterback position. And the day could be long since Chuba Hubbard missed practice again because of his groin injury, according to a post on X by Adam Schefter.
“For the second straight day today, Panthers RB Chuba Hubbard did not practice today due to his calf injury. It’s similar to the one he played through last week, but worse.”
Schefter apparently likes the word “today.” Neither was needed.
But still, the Panthers might struggle without Hubbard. He has been by far the team’s leading rusher with 217 yards on 53 carries. Rico Dowdle has 83 yards on 28 attempts. Also, Hubbard has been an effective receiver with 13 catches for 94 yards and two touchdowns.
Panthers RB Chuba Hubbard might miss Week 5
Panthers head coach Dave Canales said Hubbard needs more work as he rehabs from the setback, according to pantherswire.com.
“The calf needs more treatment,” Canales said. “The calf needs more time. And so, we're just taking it day to day with Chuba right now. We needed to get him a rest day today, not put him out there and try to get him on the other side of it.
“He was able to play, and still played at a high level—the way that we expected him to play, and ran the ball hard all the way through it. But coming out of it, we just didn't feel like he wasn't in a better spot coming out of the game than he was the week before. So we're gonna treat that day to day.”
The Panthers have put together an odd season thus far. They got whipped by the Jaguars before playing competitively against the Cardinals. Then they dusted the Falcons in a 30-0 decision. But they crashed back to Earth in a 42-13 beatdown at the hands of the Patriots in Week 4.
Quarterback Bryce Young said there are no excuses, according to ESPN.
“It’s on me,” Young said. “It’s on everybody in that locker room. We talked about that after. We all take accountability. We all have to look in the mirror. We all have to understand what we can do better.”
