Panthers RB Chuba Hubbard out vs. Miami with calf injury, Rico Dowdle to start

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard will miss Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins because of a nagging calf injury, coach Dave Canales confirmed.

Rico Dowdle will start in Hubbard’s place with Trevor Etienne and DeeJay Dallas serving as backups.

Hubbard played through the injury last week at New England but saw his regular heavy workload reduced. Canales said Hubbard didn’t come out the Week 4 game as well as he had the previous week and needed some rest to recover.

Canales called Hubbard day to day.

“We couldn’t get Chuba around quickly enough to feel confident enough to get him out there,” Canales said. “We thought this would be a good week to get him back to strength, back to health. We will keep looking at him through the weekend and take a look at him early next week.”

Hubbard ran for nearly 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns last season, but has been limited to 217 yards this season and hasn’t scored a touchdown on the ground. He does have two TD receptions.

Dowdle eclipsed 1,000 yards rushing last season with the Dallas Cowboys before signing with the Panthers as an unrestricted free agent. Dowdle is averaging only 3 yards per carry this season but has scored one rushing touchdown for Carolina.

Also ruled out for Sunday were cornerback Chau Smith-Wade (chest), tight end JT Sanders (ankle), and defensive lineman Turk Wharton (toe). Among those listed as questionable include defensive linemen Cam Jackson (knee) and LaBryan Ray (ankle) and outside linebacker DJ Wonnum (hip).

The Panthers plan to open the 21-day window on wide receiver Jalen Coker next week. Coker has been on injured reserve since the start of the season.