Chuba Hubbard vs. Royce Freeman: Which Panthers Running Back Will Carry the Load with Christian McCaffrey Out?
By Thomas Snodgrass
Running back Christian McCaffrey being hurt and missing any game time is the most terrifying thing that the 3-0 Carolina Panthers could have experienced, but here we are.
After heading off to the sidelines and wandering into the dreaded, blue injury tent, McCaffrey has been labeled “week to week” with a hamstring issue. Two running backs appeared in the Thursday Night Football game against the Houston Texans in Chuba Hubbard and Royce Freeman.
Hubbard is just a rookie and was a great running back as an Oklahoma State Cowboy. Hubbard had a monstrous 2019 season at Oklahoma State, running 328 times for 2,094 yards and 21 touchdowns. He wasthe first Cowboy to run for a 2,000-yard rushing season since Barry Sanders in 1988.
Hubbard did a decent job against the Texans on Thursday, with 11 carries for 52 yards and catching three passes for 27 more yards.
#Panthers star RB Christian McCaffrey is expected to miss a few weeks, sources say, as the team continues to run tests on his hamstring injury suffered last night. IR is not the plan as of now. Rookie Chuba Hubbard is the next man up.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 24, 2021
Remember when Royce Freeman was supposed to be a big deal for the Denver Broncos? Well, he’s a Panther now, and Freeman made his Carolina debut on Thursday, rushing five times for 17 yards and catching a pass for eight yards.
Chuba versus Royce looks heavily in favor of Chuba at the moment, and Hubbard should put together some nice numbers while McCaffrey is on the sidelines.
WynnBET currently has Hubbard at +15000 on the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year list, and you can make that bet if you’re on board the Chuba-Train. But if you think that McCaffrey won’t be on the sidelines too long and will help the 3-0 Panthers have a huge season when he returns, you could make a bet on McCaffrey for MVP at +5000.
Chuba or Royce? Make your pick at WynnBET.