{"id":712766,"date":"2026-01-29T01:15:22","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T01:15:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/712766\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T01:15:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T01:15:22","slug":"rico-dowdle-deemed-not-a-true-game-breaker-after-breakout-panthers-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/712766\/","title":{"rendered":"Rico Dowdle Deemed \u2018Not a True Game-Breaker\u2019 After Breakout Panthers Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last March, the Carolina Panthers<\/a> inked free-agent running back Rico Dowdle <\/a>to a one-year, $2.75 million contract (via Spotrac<\/a>). He led the Dallas Cowboys in rushing in 2024, totaling 235 carries for 1,079 yards and a pair of touchdowns in 16 outings. <\/p>\n

With Dave Canales\u2019s playoff-bound team <\/a>this season, the former undrafted free agent from the University of South Carolina put up eerily similar numbers. In 17 regular-season outings, there were 236 attempts for 1,076 yards and six TDs. A banged-up Chuba Hubbard <\/a>opened the door for Dowdle, who didn\u2019t make his first start until Week 5.<\/p>\n

The new NFL fiscal year begins on March 11, meaning there\u2019s time for teams to re-sign players whose contracts officially expire that day. That includes Dowdle, who is No. 16 on Pro Football Focus\u2019 <\/a>ranking (72.5 grade) of the top 250 players set to hit the open market.<\/p>\n

\"Rico<\/p>\n

Dec 28, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle (5) runs the ball against Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Jarran Reed (90) during the third quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

\u201cDowdle replicated his final season in Dallas during his lone year with the Carolina Panthers, further establishing himself as a capable starting running back at the NFL level. While he is not a true game-breaker, he has averaged more than 3.0 yards after contact per carry over his career and profiles as a strong fit for a team with a solid offensive line.\u201d<\/p>\n

All told, Dowdle is one of 17 NFL players <\/a>to rush for at least 1,000 yards in 2025. While Baltimore\u2019s Derrick Henry led the league with 17 runs of 20-plus yards, the Panthers\u2019 running back had only five runs of that nature. Still, Dowdle averaged 4.6 yards per attempt for the second consecutive season, which can\u2019t be overlooked. <\/p>\n

Will the 27-year-old performer be back in Charlotte in 2026. In November of \u201924, Hubbard (who ran for 1,195 yards and 10 TDs that season) signed a four-year, $33.2 million extension.<\/a> Stay tuned.<\/p>\n

– Enjoy more free Panthers coverage with Carolina Panthers on SI –<\/p>\n

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Carolina Panthers linked to two-time Super Bowl champion in free agency<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last March, the Carolina Panthers inked free-agent running back Rico Dowdle to a one-year, $2.75 million contract (via…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":712767,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2075],"tags":[235,260,2567,7,6,236],"class_list":{"0":"post-712766","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-carolina-panthers","8":"tag-carolina","9":"tag-carolina-panthers","10":"tag-carolinapanthers","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-panthers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115975744868418964","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=712766"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712766\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/712767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=712766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=712766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=712766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}