Who Should I Start? Chuba Hubbard or Omarion Hampton

Wednesday, October 15, 3:46 PM

Updating a previous report, Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard (calf) was officially a limited participant in his return to practice on Wednesday, according to David Newton of ESPN. This is the first time that Hubbard has practiced since injuring his calf in Week 4. The 26-year-old missed Weeks 5 and 6 and left backfield duties to Rico Dowdle, who took full advantage of the elevated role to go for 473 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns on 60 touchdowns over that span. Dowdle's domination has allowed the Panthers to slow-play Hubbard's return, but it looks like he could make it back this Sunday against the New York Jets. Carolina has said that it will be more of an even split in the backfield between Hubbard and Dowdle when Hubbard returns, which will lower the fantasy ceilings of both RBs. Dowdle could see more work in Week 7 if Hubbard is eased back into the offense this weekend.

Sunday, October 12, 9:16 AM

Los Angeles Chargers running back Omarion Hampton (ankle) is expected to spend more than the minimum four weeks on injured reserve, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. The injury that the rookie suffered in Week 5 appears to be serious enough that he'll be out through at least Week 10, and perhaps longer. The Chargers have a Week 12 bye, so it wouldn't be surprising to see Los Angeles hold him out until Week 13, giving him an extra week off to rest. Losing both Hampton and Najee Harris (Achilles) is a major blow for the Chargers, who will turn to Hassan Haskins and Kimani Vidal but could also look to make external running back additions.