The New England Patriots have already crushed expectations this season after entering 2025 with an over/under win total of 8.5. The Pats have rattled off six straight and are now firmly planted in the AFC playoff picture. That makes them buyers at the NFL trade deadline. No ifs ands or buts about it.
Recent dialogue has shied away from focusing on bringing in another pass catching threat, as Drake Maye currently sits fourth in the league in passing yards and has certainly made good with the weapons currently available to him.
It has also gotten away from the call for a premiere pass rusher. The Patriots’ have the league’s best run defense, are top ten in total yards allowed, and rank in the middle of the pack as far as sacks are concerned. Translation: they’re doing alright on defense.
But the one place that they have underperformed is the rushing game. The team’s leading rusher is rookie TreVeyon Henderson with 283 yards. Next is Rhamondre Stevenson, who has 279. Finally, in third place, Drake Maye with 270.
Three rushers all averaging 30ish yards per game. It’s not a traditional recipe for success.
The Patriots should be looking to bring in a premiere back, and that is why Chubba Hubbard from the Carolina Panthers should be considered option 1A.
Chubba Hubbard Trade Pitch
One of the benefits of back to back four win seasons is that you have the most available cap space in the NFL. This means that trade targets don’t have to be cheap rentals, but instead players that you can add to the core moving forward. This perfectly sums up running back Chubba Hubbard who, despite playing in his fifth NFL season, is only 26-years-old.
“Chuba Hubbard is a much better running back than he’s shown in 2025. An injury-ravaged offensive line in Carolina caused a lot of the bonds to break down that Hubbard built in his 1,000+ yard season a year ago. Now he’s on the outside as Rico Dowdle has become the feature back in Carolina,” reads an SB Nation article.
That being said, no contender could benefit more form a bell cow back than the Patriots- aside from maybe the Kansas City Chiefs.
“Having a deep pool of running backs fits right into Mike Vrabel’s ethos when it comes to football, and Hubbard could likely be had at a low, low price,” the article continued. “It’s simply a case where the Panthers are probably looking in a new direction at RB for someone who is a little more of a dynamic pass catcher, the Patriots need a smash mouth between-the-tackles back.”
Hubbard Might Not Be For Sale
Unfortunately for the Patriots, the 5-4 Carolina Panthers are being stubborn. They just signed Hubbard to a four year extension in 2024. The running back who has outshine him, however, is one of the cheapest in the league. Operating on a simple one year, $2.75 million deal, Rico Dowdle has shined.
That doesn’t mean that they are willing to end the Hubbard era though. According to writer Daniel Belton, the back isn’t going anywhere.
“The Panthers, for better or worse, are run like a family,” Belton writes. “The players truly care about each other, and Chuba Hubbard has been an unquestioned leader in the locker room for several years now. Canales was slow to replace Hubbard as the main back despite Dowdle’s incredible play; imagine how reluctant he would be to trade him entirely. Hubbard is constantly lauded as ‘one of our guys’ by Dan Morgan and Dave Canales.”
“Morgan and Canales have both mentioned wanting to send the message that guys who produce in Carolina get rewarded. Trading Chuba Hubbard would send a different message altogether.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Best Case Scenario Running Back Trade Target For Patriots’ At Deadline appeared first on Heavy Sports.