Who Should I Start? Chuba Hubbard or Jerome Ford

Monday, December 30, 6:15 PM

Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales said on Monday that running back Chuba Hubbard (calf) will not require surgery for his strained calf. Hubbard was placed on season-ending Injured Reserve last week and will miss the final two games of the 2024 regular season. It's a downer to end what was a brilliant campaign for the 25-year-old in his fourth year in the NFL. He set career-highs in rushing attempts (250), rushing yards (1,195), rushing touchdowns (10) and receptions (43) while recording 171 receiving yards and an additional touchdown in his 15 starts. In terms of half-PPR points per game (14.9), Hubbard was the RB12 in fantasy. Although the Panthers have another promising back they drafted in 2024 in Jonathon Brooks, he has yet to be healthy, and Carolina also signed Hubbard to a four-year extension last month. Hubbard should enter 2025 as the team's unquestioned RB1.

Friday, May 2, 11:25 PM

Cleveland Browns rookie running back Jerome Ford agreed to a pay cut with the team on Friday, reducing his 2025 salary from $3.486 million to a guaranteed $1.75 million, a league source told The Cleveland Plain Dealer's Mary Kay Cabot. It means that free-agent RB Nick Chubb will likely not be re-signing with the Browns this offseason. The move to reduce Ford's salary comes after the Browns selected former Ohio State RB Quinshon Judkins with the 33rd overall pick in last week's NFL draft. Cleveland also added to the RB room and took former Tennessee rusher Dylan Sampson at No. 126 overall. Ford, a fifth-rounder in 2022, led the team with 565 yards on 104 carries (5.4 yards per carry) and three touchdowns with Chubb coming off a serious knee injury in 2023. The 25-year-old Ford is technically still atop the team's RB depth chart, but his reduction in pay is a clear sign that Judkins will have the opportunity to become the RB1 sooner than later in 2025.