Dave Canales has revealed his plan for how he wants to use his running backs in the 2026 NFL season.
We are just under three weeks away from the start of the 2026 NFL season as the Carolina Panthers will open up by hosting the Chicago Bears.
For the Panthers, they are coming off a 2025 season in which they finished 8-9 overall but won the NFC South due to a tiebreaker. Here in 2026, the Panthers are looking to build on that and not only return to the playoffs but win a game. That's the goal for Dave Canales and his team.
As we sit here with just one preseason game left and roster cuts looming, the Panthers are going to have some decisions to make.
One position that the Panthers feel pretty set at is running back. While they lost Rico Dowdle to free agency, they return Chuba Hubbard as well as Jonathon Brooks. The Panthers envision the duo to lead their backfield and take some pressure off of quarterback Bryce Young.
Canales has a plan for his backfield, and he revealed it will be a running-back-by-committee approach this season. The head coach mentioned that Hubbard will be ready to go for the Week 1 game against the Bears, giving the Panthers two running backs they can go to.
"Yeah, we'll definitely roll it out just the way we have been—where you have a lead back for the series, the other guy comes in on third down so they can be in there for the protection," he stated.
"And also, we run the ball on third down. So those are good opportunities to just keep a guy into the game while the other person—whether it's Chuba or JB, we'll make that decision when we get closer. But whoever the lead guy for the base downs is, they'll get the bulk of that rhythm."
Hubbard has been bothered by a hamstring injury the past few weeks but on Monday, he revealed that he feels good and ready to go. The Panthers are being a little more cautious with him and don't want to rush him back to practice right away.
Meanwhile, Brooks is returning from an injury he suffered back in 2024 at the end of his rookie season. Carolina also has AJ Dillon who will have a role as well, likely in short-yardage situations.
The hope is that both can stay healthy and give the Panthers a nice one-two punch in the backfield.
