CHARLOTTE, NC — Dave Canales demonstrated his commitment to the running game at the end of Saturday’s exhibition game against the New York Jets when fifth-team running back Dillon Johnson carried the ball on every play of the Carolina Panthers’ final seven-play drive.
On his seventh carry, Johnson fought his way into the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown as time expired in the Jets’ 15-12 victory. It was the Panthers’ first touchdown of the preseason — and first overall since the fourth quarter of a loss to Green Bay on Christmas Eve last year.
But the most important run of the night came at halftime, when running back Chuba Hubbard jogged across the field at Bank of America Stadium toward the locker room with no signs of a limp or other problems. The last time we saw Hubbard, he was holding his knee after an awkward slip during the teams’ joint practice before Jets safety Chuck Clark struck hard.
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But Canales, the first-year coach, said follow-up tests confirmed the initial tests: Hubbard’s knee was fine. And that was by far the biggest development on a night when Canales again sat out quarterback Bryce Young and the rest of his starters.
“Of course I was a little scared,” Hubbard said. “But I feel great, I feel good.”
Canales said Hubbard is expected to participate when the Panthers return to the practice fields on Tuesday. In fact, Hubbard said he could have finished the session against the Jets if the training staff had let him. The former Oklahoma State star has played in 49 of a possible 51 games since the Panthers drafted him in the fourth round in 2021.
But after he went down on a play Thursday that resulted in a flag for Clark, some of Hubbard’s offensive teammates rushed to his aid – and a near-clash with the Jets ensued.
“I just kind of fell to the ground in a weird way, got hit and bent my knee backwards a little awkwardly,” he said. “But other than that, it really wasn’t anything too crazy.”
Hubbard bore no grudge against Clark, who punched him at the end of training.
“That’s football,” he said. “Sometimes you take a few hits, get up and fight back.”
Hubbard is coming off a stellar season in which he rushed for over 900 yards and finished in the top five NFL players in catch percentage. He entered training camp as the clear starter in a running back room that includes veterans Miles Sanders and Mike Boone and return specialist Raheem Blackshear.
So the Canadian-born Hubbard is an important piece of Canales’ plan to establish the running game. And he liked how the offense worked on Thursday against the Jets, when the starters had up to 50-60 snaps.
“It was a great day. We got a glimpse of who we were going to be and put it all together (in) different phases,” Hubbard said. “Obviously it felt good to all be on the same path.”
It’s unclear whether Hubbard and the offense will get a chance to join forces in a preseason game. Canales did not comment on whether the starters will play in the final exhibition game in Buffalo next weekend.
Hubbard has no strong opinions one way or the other.
“The game obviously gives you a different feel for real tackling,” he said. “But whatever the coach wants, I’m OK with it.”
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(Photo: Jacob Kupferman / AP Photo)
