The Carolina Panthers announced Thursday that they extended running back Chuba Hubbard in a four-year deal worth $33 million. The 25-year-old has been with the team for four years and is currently in the midst of his best NFL season.

“Definitely lifts a burden off me a little bit,” Hubbard said of his new deal. ”I’ve always wanted to take care of my family for life…. At the end of the day, I want to be great. I want to be a Panther for life.”

In his first three seasons with the Panthers, Hubbard struggled to earn a leading role in the backfield, losing carries to the likes of Christian McCaffrey, Miles Sanders and D’Onta Foreman. Entering 2024, it appeared that he would soon be playing second fiddle again until 2024 second-round pick Jonathan Brooks went down with an injury before the season.

After a slow start along with the rest of the Panthers’ offense, Hubbard has exploded as the unchallenged backfield leader. In nine starts, he has run for 665 yards and five touchdowns, proving to be a bright spot in a dreary year for Carolina. In Week 9, he scored the go-ahead touchdown in a 23-22 victory over the Saints.

The Panthers announced Hubbard’s extension one day after taking Brooks off the injured list, showing signs of confidence in two different running backs in the span of one week. The extension ensures that Hubbard will maintain some sort of role in the offense for the foreseeable future, but Brooks could cut into his workload as he gradually makes his way back to the field.

While Carolina’s running game continues to produce, everything else is shaping up poorly. The defense is below average at best, made worse by a woefully inefficient offense. Quarterback Bryce Young has struggled to kickstart the passing game all season, and while Andy Dalton did a better job in Young’s stead, that didn’t lead to more wins for the team. The front office recently traded standout wide receiver Diontae Johnson to Baltimore, a clear sign that the team is packing it in for the season.

After an image came to light of Oklahoma State University’s head football coach Mike Gundy wearing an OAN t-shirt, Cowboys’ running back Chuba Hubbard said in a Twitter post that he would not be doing anything with the team until change took place. “I will not stand for this. This is completely insensitive to everything going on in society, and it’s unacceptable,” Hubbard said.

OAN is a far-right cable news channel that is frequently cited by President Donald Trump, and is known for publicizing various conspiracy theories, which recently has included being critical of the Black Lives Matter movement. 

Numerous former and current players have since shown support for Hubbard. Later Monday evening, both Hubbard and Gundy posted a video together acknowledging the situation. Gundy said that change was on the way. “In light of today’s tweet with the T-shirt that I was wearing, I met with some players and realize it’s a very sensitive issue with what’s going on in today’s society,” Gundy said. “And so, we had a great meeting. [I was] made aware of some things that players feel like can make our organization, our culture even better than it is here at Oklahoma State. I’m looking forward to making some changes, and it starts at the top with me. And we’ve got good days ahead.”

https://twitter.com/Hubbard_RMN/status/1272673812795084801

Hubbard voiced similar sentiments to his head coach. “From now on we’re gonna focus on bringing change, and that’s the most important thing,” he said. Hubbard noted that he was wrong for tweeting about the picture immediately instead of confronting Gundy.

Oklahoma State was scheduled to start voluntary on campus workouts on Monday.