BREAKING:Panthers re-sign Chuba Hubbard

[LinvilleGorge]

5 minutes ago, Bear Hands said:

The contract details aren't clear yet but to break it down:

• Sanders is off the books when we release him after this season.  The cap savings are more than double the dead cap (which is minimal) so he's cut/not here in 2025, saving us cap room
• Brooks is on a 2nd Round contract - ~$2 mil next year
• There is no other RB on contract next year

That's a RB room worth $11.5 million overall.  Around the 17th-20th ranked in the league financially - and that's before teams make their offseason moves and new RB investments.  That's not a ton.  

 

 

And it could be substantially less. Outside of a handful of elite guys there's no one who should be getting paid "starter money" at RB. It's a plug and play position. We drafted Brooks to be our starter. We can find a serviceable backup with a mid to late round pick or low level free agent deal. We need a QB and a whole defense. A backup RB with a starter contract or starter draft capital investment is the last thing this roster needs.

[Bear Hands]

Just now, LinvilleGorge said:

And it could be substantially less. Outside of a handful of elite guys there's no one who should be getting paid "starter money" at RB. It's a plug and play position. We drafted Brooks to be our starter. We can find a serviceable backup with a mid to late round pick or low level free agent deal. We need a QB and a whole defense.

Good news is that incorporating Chuba's contract, with anticipated cuts, we should still have around $55-60 million in space this offseason.  Almost $200 mil in space as things stand in 2026.  

[Pejorative Miscreant]

I’m glad Chiba is getting paid but not happy it was us who paid him.

 

[PNW_PantherMan]

Just now, Bear Hands said:

Good news is that incorporating Chuba's contract, with anticipated cuts, we should still have around $55-60 million in space this offseason.  Almost $200 mil in space as things stand in 2026.  

Little early to get excited about that.  I've seen this episode before.

[PadresPanthersFan]

For those not happy with drafting brooks... should we have drafted another 2nd round wr?

For the record I did want o line or cb help with our 2nd

[Bear Hands]

Just now, PNW_PantherMan said:

Little early to get excited about that.  I've seen this episode before.

I'm just reporting it, not getting excited.  That will no doubt go down with new contracts.

But because we've been drafting so many busts, there's no one in house to extend lol.  Could be spent on a lot of known resources.  

[ForJimmy]

1 minute ago, LinvilleGorge said:

And it could be substantially less. Outside of a handful of elite guys there's no one who should be getting paid "starter money" at RB. It's a plug and play position. We drafted Brooks to be our starter. We can find a serviceable backup with a mid to late round pick or low level free agent deal. We need a QB and a whole defense.

But it's not a plug and play like teams were thinking.  Ask the Cowboys and the Bears thinking they were fine letting Montgomery walk.  Ask the Texans who had to trade for Mixon because their backfield held them back.  @Bear Handsbroke down the top running teams in the league and they have a very similar allocated of money/investments in the RB room.  It's a $15 million guaranteed contract over 4 years.  IF we are paying him the full 32 then he is playing very well and earning 8 plus million a year over 4 years.  I don't think we are doing the starter/backup scenario.  Our OC even said he has plays featuring both backs in the backfield.  We are trying to be a RB committee with a RB room that isn't that expensive compared to the league average.  IF Chuba plays to his top potential and we pay out all money he will average between Stevenson and Swift's average salary.  

[LinvilleGorge]

1 minute ago, PadresPanthersFan said:

For those not happy with drafting brooks... should we have drafted another 2nd round wr?

For the record I did want o line or cb help with our 2nd

I honestly didn't like trading up on the 2nd to draft a RB with a torn ACL. That didn't seem like a great move for this roster. But it wouldn't be a bad move if he proved to be a quality starter. But now signing Chuba to starter money on the hells of that? Yeah, that's significant roster building assets tied up in the RB position which has been a hallmark of the Panthers' roster building thought process over the years which has led to zero sustained success on the field.

[Bear Hands]

6 minutes ago, PNW_PantherMan said:

It's not a terrible deal in a vacuum.  But I think it further validates some concerns about the strategy of our front office.

That perspective I get.  I'm still a bit iffy on Morgan, although the draft class has looked alright.  

It will take at least another offseason to establish a core group here.  The defense is a sieve, unsure on coaches & QB. And we'll have to get ahead of the curve looking for a Moton replacement as well.  Not so sure that's in house right now.    

[Bear Hands]

2 minutes ago, ForJimmy said:

But it's not a plug and play like teams were thinking.  Ask the Cowboys and the Bears thinking they were fine letting Montgomery walk.  Ask the Texans who had to trade for Mixon because their backfield held them back.  @Bear Handsbroke down the top running teams in the league and they have a very similar allocated of money/investments in the RB room.  It's a $15 million guaranteed contract over 4 years.  IF we are paying him the full 32 then he is playing very well and earning 8 plus million a year over 4 years.  I don't think we are doing the starter/backup scenario.  Our OC even said he has plays featuring both backs in the backfield.  We are trying to be a RB committee with a RB room that isn't that expensive compared to the league average.  IF Chuba plays to his top potential and we pay out all money he will average between Stevenson and Swift's average salary.  

A problem I'll admit is is that Pollard, Stevenson, & Swift (in the same ballpark $ wise) don't look worth it but they're all in bad situations.  Chuba is still looking good in a bad situation, so that's nice to see.  Those guys, not so much.    

[LinvilleGorge]

4 minutes ago, ForJimmy said:

But it's not a plug and play like teams were thinking.  Ask the Cowboys and the Bears thinking they were fine letting Montgomery walk.  Ask the Texans who had to trade for Mixon because their backfield held them back.  @Bear Handsbroke down the top running teams in the league and they have a very similar allocated of money/investments in the RB room.  It's a $15 million guaranteed contract over 4 years.  IF we are paying him the full 32 then he is playing very well and earning 8 plus million a year over 4 years.  I don't think we are doing the starter/backup scenario.  Our OC even said he has plays featuring both backs in the backfield.  We are trying to be a RB committee with a RB room that isn't that expensive compared to the league average.  IF Chuba plays to his top potential and we pay out all money he will average between Stevenson and Swift's average salary.  

On the other hand you have a third year UDFA #4 in the league in SF filling in for injured huge money CMC.

[ForJimmy]

1 minute ago, Bear Hands said:

That perspective I get.  I'm still a bit iffy on Morgan, although the draft class has looked alright.  

It will take at least another offseason to establish a core group here.  The defense is a sieve, unsure on coaches & QB. And we'll have to get ahead of the curve looking for a Moton replacement as well.  Not so sure that's in house right now.    

We need a center still.  BC is driving his price up if he keeps showing he can play LT as well in this league.  A starting center, 3rd WR (vet), and someone to learn behind Moton (maybe come in during jumbo packages) should finish out the offense aside from depth and of course the most important position (QB).  

[BullCityP]

To the people who don't like the signing tell me who you would sign with the 8 million per that would make a bigger impact than Chubba...don't worry I'll wait 

[DaveThePanther2008]

We have no idea how Brooks is going to play. I think he has a very high ceiling but we have no idea about his durability. If he were to get hurt again we're scrambling to find an running back. Hubbard is not on a massive deal. 

We haven't won too many games but how many times has Sanders come in and ruined a drive. We need two good running backs. Canales has said several times we want to be a running team, why have one back and run him into the ground. We've got 2 good RB that can spell each other and keep them fresh. It will be nice when we are trying to run the clock down for a win.