Even as Chuba Hubbard shines, ‘decisions’ to be made in Panthers’ badly bruised RB room

The strength of the Carolina Panthers’ offense Sunday — just as it had been the entire season — was its run game, powered by the unflashy bruiser Chuba Hubbard.

That is without question.

But what is in question, even as Hubbard turned in a redemptive, 152-yard, two-touchdown performance to defeat the Cardinals in overtime in the Panthers’ home finale?

The rest of the running back room.

Head coach Dave Canales told reporters on Monday that there are “critical decisions” needed to be made ahead of the Panthers’ penultimate game against the Tampa Bay Bucs. Those decisions start with Miles Sanders, who hit the injured reserve list on November 23, two weeks after sustaining an ankle injury and needing to be carted off the field against the Giants in Germany.

“We’re just working through all that today,” Canales said. “There are some critical decisions we have to make, (including) Mike Boone, who we used his last practice squad call-up for this past week. So we gotta make a bunch of those important decisions going into this week to play the Bucs.

“Because we’re going to try to run the ball. So we gotta make sure we have guys available for that.”

Canales added that he doesn’t have a date in mind when he needs to make a “final decision” on Sanders’ return to action. The veteran who signed a four-year, $25.4 million deal with the Panthers ahead of 2023 hasn’t played since Week 10 and has accumulated 38 carries for 139 yards and one touchdown on the year.

“We just take it day-by-day,” Canales said of Sanders. “We’ll talk to him. He’s doing his return-to-play protocols, and so we’ll just have to go with the information that we have based on those workouts.”

That’s not the only decision facing Canales and his offensive staff. Boone, who has run well the past two weeks, had his third and final practice-squad standard elevation used on Sunday against the Cardinals, meaning the Panthers won’t be able to play him again without signing him to the 53-man active roster. Boone has accumulated 22 yards on seven carries in three games — which is about the pace backup running back Jonathon Brooks had before the rookie re-tore his ACL against the Eagles.

One way the Panthers might navigate this dilemma without making any transactions is to initiate Raheem Blackshear in the run game a bit more. The third-string RB — who has pretty much exclusively made his impact in the return game up until now, and is under decent Pro Bowl consideration because of it — earned his first carry of the season against the Cardinals. He finished with three carries for 13 yards.

“He ran hard, made the most of his couple opportunities that he had,” Canales said of Blackshear. “And he read the runs properly, finished with his legs driving. So it was really cool to see him in there.”

Here’s the rest of Monday’s notebook.

A quick word on Chuba Hubbard

Yes, uncertainty looms in the running back room with Sanders and Brooks injured, and with Boone out of practice-squad elevations, and with Blackshear finally getting his first chance out the backfield this year ...

But here’s a quick word on the main engine that powers this Panthers offense.

Hubbard now has numbers that are some of the best in the league. His 1,195 rushing yards rank fifth in the NFL. His 250 carries rank sixth. His 10 touchdowns rank 11th.

And that goes without mentioning the franchise history Hubbard has crested the past few weeks.

On Sunday, per the Panthers’ game notes, Hubbard earned his 21st career rushing touchdown — ranking him fifth in Panthers history in rushing scores. In front of him are Cam Newton (63), Jonathan Stewart (51), DeAngelo Williams (46) and Christian McCaffrey (32). A week prior, against the Cowboys, Hubbard became only one of six players to be part of the Panthers’ 3,000-yard rushing club, too. Those guys: Stewart (7,318), Williams (6,846), Newton (5,036), McCaffrey (3,980), DeShaun Foster (3,336) — and now Hubbard (3,175).

Quick hits

▪ Bryce Young played a tough, complete game that saw his personality beam and his potential shine. You could see that in his play and in the box score: 17 of 26 for 158 yards and two touchdowns and no turnovers. His PFF grades bear out his great outing against the Cardinals as well. The network had Young with a 91.7 passer grade and a 73.9 rusher grade. He also made four “big time throws” — in other words a pass with what the site calls “excellent ball location and timing” — which is his personal second-most on the season.

▪ Brady Christensen got the start at center on Sunday after regular starter Cade Mays woke up with an illness the morning of gameday. Christensen graded out with a 51.4 offensive rating and largely played mistake-free football. Canales told reporters that he was satisfied with Christensen’s performance but indicated that Mays would return as the starter once healthy.

▪ The Panthers waived defensive end Jonathan Harris on Monday. Canales said the move was made to acquire some linebacker depth — which has been at a premium thanks to a slew of injuries. A league source told The Observer on Monday that the team plans to sign Chandler Wooten to the squad; Wooten was released from the Panthers’ practice squad in November.

▪ Yes, the Diontae Johnson saga continues. The former Panthers wideout, who was released by the Baltimore Ravens earlier this month, was claimed off of waivers by the Houston Texans on Monday. The Texans are depleted at the receiver position, particularly after the season-ending injury sustained by Tank Dell, one of quarterback CJ Stroud’s favorite targets. The Texans will thus become the third team Johnson has played for in the 2024 season.