Who Should I Start? Rico Dowdle or Trey Sermon

Friday, January 30, 12:35 PM

ESPN's David Newton writes that unless Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle wants to "return at a bargain price," he "appears headed to this third team in three seasons." General manager Dan Morgan said he had a good meeting with Dowdle after the season, but Dowdle was unhappy with the way the year ended -- he had seven carries for 10 yards in the Week 18 regular-season finale and only five carries for nine yards in the Wild-Card loss to the Los Angeles Rams. The 27-year-old has produced back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and was Carolina's leading rusher (1,076 yards), but he'd likely be in a committee backfield again with Chuba Hubbard if he were to re-sign. Hubbard is locked in through the 2028 campaign on a four-year, $33.2 million deal he signed in 2024. "I just want to be a guy who can go out there and just get the bulk [of the carries]," Dowdle said.

Saturday, November 8, 9:42 AM

The Pittsburgh Steelers have promoted running back Trey Sermon to their active roster from the practice squad ahead of their Week 10 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers. Sermon has only appeared in three games this season for Pittsburgh, logging just one offensive snap and working almost entirely on special teams. The 26-year-old should be expected to play in a similar role on Sunday night against the Chargers, and potentially be in the mix for some touches on offense if one of the Steelers running backs ahead of him were to go down.