Who Should I Start? Rico Dowdle or Michael Carter

Monday, October 27, 3:07 PM

When asked about the team's running back situation involving both Rico Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard, Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales said, "Chuba Hubbard has meant a lot to this team. We wanted to give him an opportunity following his calf injury. But we can't ignore the fact that Rico [Dowdle] has been exceptional." Canales' tone "suggests Dowdle will get a heavier workload," according to Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team. In the team's Week 8 loss to the Buffalo Bills with a negative game script, Dowdle had eight carries for 54 yards and wasn't targeted in the passing game on just 36% of the offensive snaps. Meanwhile, Hubbard had a team-high 12 carries for 34 yards and a touchdown and didn't catch his only target on 57% of the snaps. Dowdle was more efficient on the ground on Sunday and has 123 yards on 25 carries in the two games since Hubbard returned from injury. Even if Dowdle sees a bit more work going forward, this backfield split is going to cap his fantasy value every week.

Tuesday, October 28, 3:07 PM

The Arizona Cardinals announced on Tuesday that they re-signed running back Michael Carter to their practice squad and released running back D'Ernest Johnson in a corresponding move. The move to add Carter back to the team was made after they released him on Monday. Coming out of their Week 8 bye, the Cardinals currently only have Bam Knight and Emari Demercado (ankle) on the active 53-man roster at the RB position, so if Demercado cannot play in Week 9 against the Dallas Cowboys, Carter will most likely rejoin the active roster this weekend. The 26-year-old was Arizona's lead back for the first game after Trey Benson (knee) landed in Injured Reserve, but Knight took over lead-back duties the following week and hasn't looked back. Carter is only averaging 2.8 yards on the ground on 35 rushing attempts in his four games in 2025 with the Cardinals and is only a bench stash for RB depth in deeper fantasy leagues.