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.