Who Should I Start? Rico Dowdle or Isaiah Spiller

Thursday, January 1, 1:08 PM

Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle (toe) practiced in full for the second straight day on Thursday and has been cleared to play in Saturday's Week 18 regular-season finale against the division-rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers, according to the team's official website. Although Chuba Hubbard isn't going to go away in Carolina's backfield, the 27-year-old Dowdle has earned RB1 duties for the Panthers. In an all-important game this weekend that will decide the winner of the NFC South, Dowdle will be on the RB2/3 borderline for fantasy managers. He has certainly slowed down since a strong stretch earlier this year when Hubbard was out with injury, and he hasn't found the end zone in the last two games. In the first meeting with the Bucs two weeks ago, Dowdle had nine carries for 29 yards and caught four passes for 14 yards. Since the team's Week 14 bye, Dowdle has 160 scrimmage yards and a TD on 45 touches.

Friday, April 25, 5:42 PM

The Las Vegas Raiders waived running back Isaiah Spiller, wide receiver Ramel Keyton, cornerback M.J. Devonshire, defensive tackle Tyler Manoa and linebackers Kana'i Mauga and Jackson Mitchell before the start of Round 2 of the 2025 NFL draft on Friday. Spiller, the former fourth-rounder by the Los Angeles Chargers in 2022 out of Texas A&M, is by far the biggest name on this list of cuts for the Raiders. The 23-year-old didn't see the field at all in 2024 and will now hit the open market after the Raiders pulled the trigger and took Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty at No. 6 overall in the first round on Thursday evening. In his two seasons with the Chargers in 2022 and 2023, Spiller had only 55 rushing attempts for 137 yards (2.5 yards per carry) and no touchdowns. He added nine receptions for 47 yards through the air. Spiller will now look to latch on with another team as RB depth.