Miles Sanders ends rocky 2024 season, and potential Carolina Panthers tenure, on a high note

Sanders dominated in what could be his last game as a Carolina Panther.

Brett Davis-Imagn Images

When the Carolina Panthers signed Miles Sanders to a four-year, $25 million contract last offseason, they were buying high on a running back coming off of a career year. Sanders, alongside Jalen Hurts, had just spearheaded the Philadelphia Eagles' vaunted rushing attack all the way to the precipice of a Super Bowl trophy before losing to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Unfortunately, Sanders has failed to duplicate his 2022 Pro Bowl form in Carolina.

Heading into today's contest, Sanders had rushed for a total of 562 yards and two touchdowns in 26 games as a Panther. He lost a good chunk of his 2024 season to an ankle injury, but before he even went down, Chuba Hubbard had claimed the role of Dave Canales' RB1 in his stead.

Ending the season on a high note

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In today's season finale, a scintillating 44-38 overtime victory over the Atlanta Falcons, Sanders looked like the elite rushing and receiving threat that Carolina thought they were signing two springs ago.

Finishing the contest with 100 scrimmage yards and a pair of touchdowns, Sanders stamped an exclamation point on what could end up being the last game of his Carolina Panthers career.

According to Spotrac, Carolina has an out in Sanders' contract this summer. It would be wholly unsurprising to see Dan Morgan and Dave Canales move on from the incumbent running back they inherited before they took over as the leading voices on Mint Street.

The ascension and extension of Chuba Hubbard has made Sanders expendable, and in this era in which teams shop for running back production in the bargain bin, it is more likely than not that the former Eagles spends the rest of his career elsewhere.

If that ends up being the case, Sanders took advantage of last opportunity to showcase his skills before hitting free agency. A dominant performance against Atlanta should springboard Miles Sanders into a new home this offseason, bringing an end to a tumultuous tenure as a Panther.

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