Who Should I Start? Samaje Perine or Rico Dowdle

Thursday, May 1, 3:25 PM

Cincinnati Bengals running back Samaje Perine is expected to have a lesser version of the two-minute, passing-down role that he held near the end of his first tenure with the organization, according to Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. Perine spent the 2020, 2021, and 2022 seasons with the Bengals and secured 38 receptions in his final season with the team. After a year with Denver and a year with Kansas City, he's back in Joe Burrow's offense and will have somewhat of a role in the backfield. However, the 29-year-old is likely well past his prime, and Chase Brown showed enough to have confidence in him as a starting fantasy football running back in 2025. Either way, Perine could be worth rostering in deeper PPR setups based on this report.

Tuesday, July 1, 9:24 PM

The Charlotte Observer's Alex Zietlow writes that Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle will split carries with rookie Trevor Etienne as the backups to lead back Chuba Hubbard in 2025. Dowdle is coming of a 1,000-yard season with the Dallas Cowboys in his first year as a lead back, but he'll be working behind Hubbard. As the RB2 last year in Carolina, Miles Sanders only had 55 carries, although he was mostly injured and ineffective. Zietlow adds that the Panthers will want to find out what they have in Etienne before Jonathon Brooks (knee) returns in 2026. If anything, the 27-year-old Dowdle will take away valuable pass-catching opportunities from Hubbard on third downs in his first year in Carolina, but it's going to be hard to justify him as an every-week fantasy starter as long as Hubbard stays healthy. Dowdle is ranked as RotoBaller's RB50 going into the 2025 season.