Chuba Hubbard's birthday celebration? Competing, getting chatty with Panthers defense

New York Times

12-06-2025

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Wednesday was Chuba Hubbard's birthday, not that you would have known it watching the Carolina Panthers' minicamp session and the post-practice activities.
It looked like any other day for the 26-year-old running back. Hubbard ran hard and engaged in a war of words with Jaycee Horn and every other defender who dared to challenge him. Then, when practice wrapped up, Hubbard found an equipment staffer to fire footballs at him while most of his teammates headed to the air conditioning.
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The only thing missing was tight end Tommy Tremble, Hubbard's friend and JUGS machine partner, who remains sidelined following back surgery.
'Obviously, that's my guy. He would have been out here catching with me per usual if he could've,' Hubbard said. 'But just a bump in the road. He'll bounce back. We have, in my opinion, the best staff when it comes to training stuff like that. They take care of us. So he'll be back by the season and be ready to go.'
Hubbard will unwind for a bit after minicamp concludes Thursday and will host a youth camp in July in his hometown of Edmonton. But Hubbard is never too far from work.
While some guys might have a barbecue grill or basketball court in their backyard, Hubbard has his own JUGS machine. Visitors are welcome to use it, including a neighbor who likes to try his hand at snagging passes.
'So shoutout to my neighbor,' Hubbard said.
The Panthers extended Hubbard halfway through the 2024 season on a four-year, $33.2 million deal. With his propensity to work in practice and produce in games, Hubbard is exactly the kind of player that Dave Canales and Dan Morgan want to reward.
It's also telling that Hubbard and Horn, who signed a four-year, $100 million extension in March, are the most vocal players on the field while trying to set the tone for practice.
'It's usually always Jaycee and Chuba,' said rookie edge rusher Princely Umanmielen, who just arrived in April. 'Chuba's always yapping. He's a big trash talker. So the defense always goes at it with him.'
Hubbard declined to get into the particulars of his trash-talking with Horn, for fear it would give his birthday an R rating.
'I probably shouldn't say it on camera. Just keep it on the field,' he said. 'But it was definitely competitive. I love that type of stuff, so it was good.'
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What hasn't been as good has been the coaching staff and front-office churn Hubbard has endured since the Panthers drafted him in the fourth round out of Oklahoma State in 2021. This will be the first year of Hubbard's career with the same head coach and offensive coordinator from the previous season.
He's ready for some stability.
'Obviously, the last four years I've been here, it's been a new head coach, new scheme, new system,' Hubbard said. 'So to build off what we had last year, which I believe was really good — and to build off that chemistry — I mean, we see it out here. Just the way we're practicing, the way we trust each other, the way we're communicating, it's starting to show. Just the more we practice, the more we play, the closer we're gonna get and the better we're gonna get.'
Chuba Hubbard getting birthday wishes as he signs autographs pic.twitter.com/gHK66ZTG8F
— Joe Person (@josephperson) June 11, 2025
The running back room has a new makeup this year with the additions of fourth-round pick Trevor Etienne and free-agent acquisition Rico Dowdle. While praising the newcomers, Hubbard also appeared to take a veiled shot at Miles Sanders, who lost his starting spot to Hubbard in 2024 and wasn't the happiest camper before getting released in March.
'Usually in the running back room, sometimes it can be a little off,' Hubbard said. 'But everyone's cool in our room, and that's a blessing. I don't take that for granted.'
Despite missing the final two games with a calf strain, Hubbard rushed for 1,195 yards in 2024 to become the Panthers' first 1,000-yard rusher since Christian McCaffrey in 2019. He hopes to build on that this year after a brief respite.
'I'm gonna take me some time off. It's my birthday, so a couple days,' he said. 'But after that, straight back to work. It's a big year.'