It seems that the shared running back duties of Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle will stay in place for the Carolina Panthers. Head coach Dave Canales expressed admiration for what the duo accomplished on Sunday, when Hubbard returned from a two-game absence.

“It felt great for me to know, whoever I was calling the run for, I expect great execution out of these guys…”, he said.

While coach Canales stopped short of saying that there would be an even split of the carries as the season progresses, he declined to give a definitive answer. He said he liked the way the rotation of Hubbard (14 carries, two receptions) and Dowdle (17 carries, one reception) worked for the team with differing styles. Each is coming off seasons that broke the 1,000-yard milestone, with the former gaining 1,195 yards en route to a new contract with the Panthers, and the latter rushing for 1,079 with the Cowboys before signing with Carolina as a free agent.

Fantasy football managers were banging the table for Dowdle to take over the lead role after he amassed 473 yards from scrimmage (7.5 yards per carry) and a pair of touchdowns in the two tilts that Hubbard (calf strain) sat out. For his part, Hubbard had just 311 scrimmage yards in four games (4.2 YPC). Numbers aside, Dowdle looked infinitely more explosive than Hubbard has this season and seemed to run with purpose. Distant RB3, rookie Trevor Etienne, actually doubled his own touches during the two games that Dowdle was the “man in charge.”

What does it mean for the remainder of the 2025 season? Fantasy managers will keep a watchful eye on one of their RB1s as he begins this chapter of sharing the workload. He has the benefit of loyalty from the franchise and a new contract, but the fact remains that at this time, Dowdle is more suited for the starting role. Managers who had Dowdle stashed or beat everyone to the waiver wire will likely be laughing all the way to the bank, as it would appear that Hubbard’s touches will likely dwindle during the next several games.

Neither of the two can currently be trusted for touches or goal-line work in the meantime, although the sheer number of injuries at the position (combined with bye weeks) means many fantasy managers will be forced to play them and cross their fingers until one takes over the job. The Panthers have a home matchup Sunday with the Buffalo Bills and will likely be without quarterback Bryce Young, so it’s an opportunity for one or the other to step forward right off the bat.

Author: Samwise (@BuyAndSellYou)