Who Should I Start? Miles Sanders or Rico Dowdle

Friday, October 10, 5:02 PM

Dallas Cowboys running back Miles Sanders (ankle, knee) has been moved to season-ending injured reserve, according to Patrick Walker of the Dallas Cowboys. Sanders was limited in practice on Wednesday before missing Thursday's practice, but now his season is over as he deals with multiple injuries to his ankle and knee. The 28-year-old served as the primary backup running back to Javonte Williams over the first four games of the season before missing Week 5. Rookie Jaydon Blue was active in his place and should step into a larger role now with Sanders out. Blue shouldn't be in lineups for Week 6, but he is an interesting speculative pickup ahead of Sunday's game against the Panthers.

Sunday, January 11, 12:48 PM

Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle, who will be a free agent in March, said his decreased number of carries at the end of the season will impact his thinking in free agency, according to Joe Person of The Athletic. Dowdle said he wants to go somewhere "where he can get the bulk of the carries." The 27-year-old was an unquestioned RB1 during the 2025 season when Chuba Hubbard missed time with an injury. However, Dowdle was involved in more of a timeshare late in the year following Hubbard's return, and he watched Hubbard score twice in the Wild-Card loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday. He had only five rushing attempts for nine yards while adding one catch on two targets for six yards. In the final four regular-season games, Dowdle averaged only 3.3 yards per carry as his role shrank. It sounds as though Dowdle doesn't plan on signing in Carolina, but it remains to be seen if he'll be able to land a lead-back role elsewhere in free agency.