After spending his first five NFL seasons in Dallas, where he eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the first time in 2024, running back Rico Dowdle left for Carolina last March. Dowdle’s one-year pact with the Panthers included a $2.75MM base salary and a max value of $6.25MM. The deal worked out well for both sides. Dowdle went over 1,000 yards again and helped the Panthers to an NFC South title.
Although the Panthers only managed an 8-9 record in the regular season, they pushed the Rams to the limit in a 34-31 wild-card round loss last Saturday. With Dowdle two months from returning to free agency, that may go down as his last game as a Panther.
General manager Dan Morgan told reporters that Dowdle hasn’t given any indication he’s exiting (via David Newton of ESPN), but the soon-to-be 28-year-old has made it clear he wants to be a lead back. Dowdle’s workload decreased toward the end of the season, which he said will impact whether he re-signs with the team.
“That definitely is a factor,” he said. “There’s options for me. I just want to be a guy who can go out there and just get the bulk [of the carries].”
In Chuba Hubbard, the Panthers already had a well-compensated starting back on hand when Dowdle joined them. Hubbard, then in the midst of his first 1,000-yard season, inked a four-year, $33.2MM extension in November 2024.
Hubbard entered 2025 as the Panthers’ No. 1 back, a role he held for the first four weeks of the season. He sat out the next two games with a calf injury, though, and Dowdle feasted during his absence. In wins over the Cowboys and Dolphins, Dowdle combined for a jaw-dropping 389 yards on 53 carries. He added two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving) and chipped in another 84 yards on seven catches.
Hubbard returned the next week, but he logged fewer carries than Dowdle in nine of the Panthers’ last 10 regular-season games. Dowdle totaled 12 or fewer rushes in three straight games from Week 16 through 18, however, and was a non-factor in the playoff loss. He notched five carries for nine yards against the Rams, while Hubbard racked up 46 yards and two scores on 13 attempts.
Dowdle is now preparing to test the market in hopes of securing a multiyear deal, according to Person, who casts doubt on the South Carolina native signing a second Panthers contract. He’ll shop himself around the league after posting the first 17-game season of his career and rushing for a personal-best six scores. The rest of his numbers are virtually identical to his 2024 output.
Over a 16-game span in his last year with the Cowboys, Dowdle amassed 1,079 rushing yards on 235 carries (4.6 YPC). He also caught 39 of 49 targets for 249 yards and three TDs. In his first (and perhaps only) Carolina season, Dowdle racked up 1,076 yards on 236 totes (4.6 YPC). As a pass catcher, he pulled in 39 of 50 targets for 297 yards and a score.
Dowdle, who entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2020, only had 96 carries under his belt before his breakthrough effort in 2024. He at least showed that wasn’t a fluke in 2025, but it’s up in the air whether a second straight 1,000-yard season will lead to multiyear offers. With Breece Hall, Travis Etienne, Kenneth Walker, Javonte Williams and J.K. Dobbins also among pending free agents, Dowdle may be stuck in a crowded class of running backs when the market opens in March.