The veterans in Carolina are tired of all the losses.
The Panthers haven't made the postseason since 2017, which was also the last year the club had a winning record.
Drafted in 2021, running back Chuba Hubbard has been around for the losing. In his four years, the running back has seen 19 total wins and 49 losses. It's an understatement to say he's ready for a change.
"Guys that have been here throughout the years, through the ups and downs, they're like, 'Yeah, we're sick and tired of it,' " Hubbard told Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer last week. "The new people that we brought in from winning cultures, they're like, 'We're ready. We're ready to win here.' So we're all kind of coming together. Building a good chemistry. The right culture. And it's all centered around winning."
Hubbard scored a new contract midway through last season, as he put up a career-high 1,195 rushing yards and 10 TDs as the Panthers' clear RB1. The addition of Rico Dowdle in free agency and drafting Trevor Etienne in the fourth round should lighten Hubbard's load out of the backfield, but he's still the top dog.
Getting back to winning was a theme this offseason in Carolina as the club enters Year 2 under coach Dave Canales.
Veteran wideout Adam Thielen echoed Hubbard's comments.
"I think guys are finally sick of being the same ol', same ol' Carolina Panthers," he said last week. "I think we want to get back to what they did here in the past, in 2015 (when Carolina made the Super Bowl) and some of those other years when they had deep playoff runs and had the crowd involved and the city hyped up. We haven't had that."
Every player on every team enters the year with the goal of winning the Super Bowl. While it's more realistic for some clubs than others, the Panthers are aiming to nudge their way into that conversation.
"If the goal isn't to make the playoffs and win a Super Bowl, you're selling yourself short," Hubbard said. "So that's always been the goal. That's the goal this year. And I think we're the closest we've ever been."
If quarterback Bryce Young continues to improve under Canales, as he did midway through last season, the offense takes another stride forward, and the defense turns a corner after last year's struggles, the Panthers can certainly contend for the NFC South title.
