Panthers' Hubbard out with calf injury, Dowdle to start vs Dolphins

Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard has been ruled out for Sunday’s home game against the Miami Dolphins because of a lingering calf injury, coach Dave Canales said Friday. The decision follows Hubbard missing the team’s practices this week and being unable to recover sufficiently after playing through the injury in last Sunday’s loss at New England.

Hubbard was declared out on Friday after the Panthers held final preparations at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. Canales said the running back did not come out of the Week 4 game in as good a condition as the previous week and needed time off from practice. “We just could not get Chuba around quickly enough to feel confident to put him out there. So we thought this would be a good week to get him back to strength, back to health,” Canales said. He added the team will continue to monitor Hubbard through the weekend and reassess early next week.

Rico Dowdle is expected to start in Hubbard’s place, with rookie Trevor Etienne and recently elevated practice squad member DeeJay Dallas likely to rotate as backups. Dowdle joined the Panthers in free agency this year after rushing for 1,079 yards for the Dallas Cowboys in...