Fresh off a 25-tote, 130-yard performance with two touchdowns in Week 9, Rico Dowdle was a surprise name on the Panthers Wednesday injury report. Dowdle aggravated his quad on Sunday, presumably while running away from backfield-mate Chuba Hubbard with all the carries.

Just days after Dowdle had cemented his lead in the backfield, per head coach Dave Canales, he out-touched Hubbard 27 to five, continuing his hot streak that began when the latter went down with an injury. The team downplayed Dowdle’s quadriceps issue after the game, and he did little more than work drills with the trainers on Wednesday, sans helmet.

By Thursday, the running back was on the practice field with the team, going through stretches, and had his helmet in tow. He put in a limited practice, setting the stage to go full on Friday and be without an injury designation for Week 10, barring anything unforeseen. Carolina fans and fantasy managers alike can exhale with the news.

Fantasy Lowdown: Dowdle is third in the NFL (first in the NFC) in rushing yards with 735. He trails only Jonathan Taylor and James Cook. Provided nothing surprising occurs before Sunday, he’s an auto-play RB1 against a Saints team that allows the sixth-most yards to backs on the season. Hubbard’s usage was even less than expected, as he has been reduced to a handcuff role. However, if the Panthers blow out the hapless Saints, he could see meaningful garbage-time snaps as the coaches monitor Dowdle’s quad.

Author: Samwise (@BuyAndSellYou)