Chuba Hubbard makes it clear how he feels about rushing split with Rico Dowdle

For the first time since early 2023, it appears that the Carolina Panthers are going to lean on someone aside from Chuba Hubbard in the backfield. When he's been healthy, he's been the starter since taking the job from Miles Sanders, and he's done a pretty great job until this season.

But for whatever reason, Hubbard has not been the same this year, and new backup Rico Dowdle has been phenomenal. After a couple of weeks, it looks like Dowdle's going to be the lead back, or at least get more carries from now on. Fortunately, that doesn't bother Hubbard much.

Chuba Hubbard unbothered by however Panthers split carries

Chuba Hubbard has been a workhorse for a long time in the NFL. For the last two weeks, he's split carries, roughly, with Rico Dowdle. Moving forward, Dowdle might cut into his workload every week, or at least until they both regress to the mean.

Full quote from #Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard when asked about his carry distribution with Rico Dowdle. pic.twitter.com/dVidJBztXq
— Alex Zietlow (@alexzietlow05) October 27, 2025

Hubbard doesn't much care how the carries are split, though. A few days ago, he said, "Whether it's 70-30, 50-50, 100 my way or 100 Rico's way, whatever it is, my focus is winning. Obviously, this has been a topic of conversation for the last few weeks. But my main focus is never solely about me."

That's good since the Panthers appear poised to finally let Dowdle be the lead back for the time being. "It's always about the team and winning games. So like I said, I pride myself on my work, and just helping the team get what needs to be done."

Hubbard also said it doesn't matter what that looks like, and he remains committed to Carolina no matter if he's getting all or none of the carries. What matters is wins, and it certainly seems like Dowdle is the back who can get Carolina some wins right now.

He helped carry them to two straight wins while Hubbard was on the bench, setting NFL and franchise records during that span. He outrushed Hubbard in both of the next two games, though the Panthers went 1-1. To get back on track, Hubbard may need to take a backseat.

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