{"id":770068,"date":"2026-02-23T00:32:23","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T00:32:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/770068\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T00:32:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T00:32:23","slug":"dave-canales-set-to-lose-panthers-star-as-bryce-young-risks-losing-18-players","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/770068\/","title":{"rendered":"Dave Canales Set to Lose Panthers Star as Bryce Young Risks Losing 18 Players"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the offseason revamp in full swing, head coach Dave Canales just dealt a major blow. Fans may not see Rico Dowdle wearing a Carolina Panthers<\/a> jersey next season, even after another terrific season. The player is expected to part ways with QB Bryce Young\u2019s offense because of a mismatch between the team\u2019s vision and his professional goals. With eighteen players hitting free agency, every decision carried massive weight for Carolina.<\/p>\n

\u201cCarolina Panthers RB Rico Dowdle is not expected back with the team next season,\u201d NFL Rumors shared on X.<\/p>\n

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The update comes just a little over a month after Rico Dowdle revealed the deciding factor in whether he wants to continue playing for Dave Canales\u2019 team. A reduced number of carries factored into that choice. After a sterling 1000-yard season with the Dallas Cowboys<\/a>, he arrived in Carolina after signing a $6.25 million contract last year. He lived up to every penny of that deal with another impressive season.<\/p>\n

He piled up 1,076 rushing yards and a career-best six touchdowns. However, the team reduced his impact in the postseason run with fewer carries. During the team\u2019s 34-31 playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams, he carried the ball only five times for nine yards. Moreover, he averaged only 8.25 carries in the season\u2019s last four games. It contrasted with 20 carries in each of the previous seven contests.<\/p>\n

Young targeted him thirty times over during an October win over the Dallas Cowboys, which was Dowdle\u2019s season high. It was mainly because the Panthers were playing without Chuba Hubbard, who was down with a calf injury. While weighing in on the importance, Dowdle tied the number of touches to the improvement in his performance.<\/p>\n

\"ARLINGTON,<\/p>\n

ARLINGTON, TX \u2013 AUGUST 21: Dallas Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle 34 makes a catch during warmups for the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Houston Texans on August 21, 2021 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Photo by George Walker\/Icon Sportswire NFL, American Football Herren, USA AUG 21 Preseason \u2013 Texans at Cowboys Icon210821072<\/p>\n

\u201cThat definitely is a factor,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are options for me. I just want to be a guy who can go out there and just get the bulk [of the carries].\u201d<\/p>\n

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In Hubbard\u2019s absence, Dowdle took on the primary role. He posted a whopping 389 receiving yards on 53 carries across two consecutive games against the Cowboys and the Dolphins. Additionally, his 473 scrimmage yards over that stretch set a franchise record. He shone one more time three weeks later with a 130-yard game against Green Bay.<\/p>\n

While 1,350 scrimmage yards and six touchdowns earned him respective bonuses of $1 million and $250,000, Rico Dowdle didn\u2019t celebrate. He believes there is more work to do.<\/p>\n

With Hubbard signed through 2028 and Jonathan Brooks\u2019 potential 2026 return from ACL injury, his aspirations will take a major hit. And that\u2019s why Rico Dowdle wants out before his worst fears come alive. It became even clearer when he expressed the desire to rejoin Jerry Jones\u2019 team<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Dave Canales\u2019 team faces major decisions involving 18 free agents<\/p>\n

Dave Canales\u2019 team will deal with eighteen free agents when the window to negotiate contracts officially opens on March 9. They have to wait until March 11 for signings.<\/p>\n

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In the meantime, they can still put franchise or transition tags on any existing players until March 3. Some notable names from the free agency group include Rico Dowdle, safety Nick Scott, linebacker Krys Barnes, and offensive lineman Cade Mays, among others.<\/p>\n

When asked about Dowdle\u2019s future, Canales sounded noncommittal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are all things we\u2019re going to have to talk about over the next couple of days,\u201d he said last month. \u201cWe have to evaluate all the guys whose contracts are up and see what our next best move is.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for other agents, The Athletic\u2019s Joe Person assessed the group and predicted who may be around for \u200cnext season. He believes Carolina would like to have punter Sam Martin and long snapper JJ Jansen back.<\/p>\n

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Martin\u2019s performance backs it up, as his 40.5 yards per attempt ranked 22nd in the NFL. He also posted 27 punts inside the 20-yard line, placing him \u200cninth league-wide.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Jansen finished his 17th season with Carolina and turned 40 last month. His age could play a role in his selection, while the team could also focus on securing Mays and inside linebacker Christian Rozeboom. The latter forced 122 tackles and a career-high two sacks in fifteen appearances this past season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sense is the Panthers would bring Rozeboom back at the right price, while trying to limit his exposure in passing situations,\u201d Person added.<\/p>\n

With so many decisions looming, Dave Canales\u2019 team needs to be careful while building a system around Bryce Young.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With the offseason revamp in full swing, head coach Dave Canales just dealt a major blow. Fans may…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":770069,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2075],"tags":[100282,1476,10418,235,260,2567,10628,1751,257,3838,7,253,7151,10600,15509,58,6,10128,236,109,7152,22655,185],"class_list":["post-770068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-carolina-panthers","tag-american-football-herren","tag-bryce-young","tag-cade-mays","tag-carolina","tag-carolina-panthers","tag-carolinapanthers","tag-christian-rozeboom","tag-chuba-hubbard","tag-dallas-cowboys","tag-dave-canales","tag-football","tag-houston-texans","tag-jonathan-brooks","tag-krys-barnes","tag-lincoln-financial-field","tag-los-angeles-rams","tag-nfl","tag-nick-scott","tag-panthers","tag-philadelphia-eagles","tag-rico-dowdle","tag-sam-martin","tag-team"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116117134755117279","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/770068","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=770068"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/770068\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/770069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=770068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=770068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=770068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}