The Carolina Panthers are aiming to defend their NFC South Division title this season.
They’re also just 3-4 through Week 8, and with one week until the Nov. 10 trade deadline, the Panthers are at least worth examining to consider where this season might really be heading.
Carolina plays one more game before the deadline — they’re home on Sunday in Week 9 against the Denver Broncos.
That’s not an easy matchup, and if the Panthers were to fall to 3-5, they’d have to take a good long look in the mirror.
One name came up in that context this week that hasn’t really been thrown around at all before now: Chuba Hubbard.
Could the Panthers trade Hubbard? That’s exactly what one analyst is asking.
Chuba Hubbard Trade Rumor
It was almost a throw-away line by ESPN’s Ben Solak on Tuesday morning in a much larger blurb about the potential for a bunch of running back trades in the week ahead.
But he wrote this:
“Does Chuba Hubbard move if the Panthers fall to 3-5 next Sunday?”
It’s just enough of a question to raise curiosity.
How much value would Hubbard have to a Panthers team just barely hanging on in the worst division race in football? Could he fetch them a quality future asset instead?
It likely is a moot point if the Panthers beat Denver and improve to 4-4. But if they don’t, it’ll be one of many RB trade narratives to watch before the deadline.
Chuba Hubbard Contract
Hubbard’s contract actually aligns him similarly to Colts superstar RB Jonathan Taylor.
Like Taylor, Hubbard is signed through the 2028 season, so he has two more years of team control after this one.
That makes it less likely that Hubbard would be traded — but it also greatly increases the return the Panthers could get if they decide to trade their RB.
If Carolina comes to the conclusion that it’s not worth chasing this season with all-out intensity, then moving off a guy like Hubbard at a position that’s viewed as replaceable could be a real option.
It would likely depend in a major way on what the offer was, but apparently Hubbard is at least in the consciousness of some trade outlooks with a week until the deadline.
Panthers’ Chuba Hubbard Emerges in Trade Rumor