Who Should I Start? Rico Dowdle or Ray Davis

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.

Sunday, January 4, 8:37 PM

Buffalo Bills running back Ray Davis rushed for 151 yards on 21 carries during Sunday's Week 18 win over the New York Jets. He also caught each of his two targets for an additional 23 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown. Davis handled the lead-back role with James Cook resting for most of the game and Ty Johnson remaining the backup option. The 26-year-old had his best game since (ironically) Week 18 of last season, when Buffalo was in a similar situation and rested its starters. While Davis will continue to offer a change of pace going forward, Cook will be the workhorse throughout the duration of the playoffs, starting with next weekend's Wild Card game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.