4 Carolina Panthers who could get reduced playing time in Week 5 at Bears

Miles Sanders - Carolina Panthers RB

If you want any indication of why former Carolina Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer is no longer in town, one look at the contract of running back Miles Sanders will go some way to explaining it. But there were many more factors attached to his eventual demise.

Fans were excited when the former Philadelphia Eagles star signed a four-year, $25.4 million deal. Sanders was coming off a 1,000-yard rushing season and a trip to the Super Bowl. He was seen as the perfect replacement for Christian McCaffrey, who was traded to the San Francisco 49ers.

However, what we’ve seen over the past season and four games is Sanders was a product of the Eagles' top-tier offensive line. Last season was a disaster. The former Penn State standout at times looked like a man who’d never played football before. He posted career lows across the board and was quickly surpassed by Chuba Hubbard as RB1 on the depth chart.

While this season has been a slight improvement, the drop-off between Sanders to Hubbard is so great the Panthers must limit the carries of the former second-round selection. He had a singular drive in Week 4 against the Cincinnati Bengals where he looked somewhat like his old self. But with rookie Jonathon Brooks nearing his return from an ACL injury, things are hanging precariously for the veteran.

Hubbard is coming off back-to-back 100-yard games. His 296 rushing yards are the 11th most in the NFL this season. The Oklahoma State product is on pace to break 1,200 rushing yards with a full 17-game slate and potentially earn a second contract in Carolina.  

We must credit Sanders for the slight improvement through four weeks. However, the drop-off when he enters the game is enough to justify reducing his snaps until Brooks is ready to take over as RB2.