Who Should I Start? Calvin Ridley or Rico Dowdle

Friday, August 1, 10:31 AM

Tennessee Titans wide receiver Calvin Ridley (calf) will sit out Friday's practice. According to head coach Ben Callahan, this is a scheduled maintenance day for Ridley. The 30-year-old exited Wednesday's practice early after experiencing cramps in his right calf and will get Friday off to rest. The buzz around Tennessee is that Ridley has had a strong start to camp and has been building a natural chemistry with No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward since the first practices of Spring. Ridley is the unquestioned alpha in the Titans' receiver room, and he led the league in unrealized air yards last season while catching passes from Will Levis. If he can continue to earn the trust of his young QB and the Titans' passing game finds any semblance of rhythm this year, Ridley represents sneaky good value in the middle rounds in upcoming fantasy drafts.

Tuesday, July 1, 9:24 PM

The Charlotte Observer's Alex Zietlow writes that Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle will split carries with rookie Trevor Etienne as the backups to lead back Chuba Hubbard in 2025. Dowdle is coming of a 1,000-yard season with the Dallas Cowboys in his first year as a lead back, but he'll be working behind Hubbard. As the RB2 last year in Carolina, Miles Sanders only had 55 carries, although he was mostly injured and ineffective. Zietlow adds that the Panthers will want to find out what they have in Etienne before Jonathon Brooks (knee) returns in 2026. If anything, the 27-year-old Dowdle will take away valuable pass-catching opportunities from Hubbard on third downs in his first year in Carolina, but it's going to be hard to justify him as an every-week fantasy starter as long as Hubbard stays healthy. Dowdle is ranked as RotoBaller's RB50 going into the 2025 season.