Fantasy Sports

Rico Dowdle Aims for Incentive Bonuses, Despite Missing Practice Ahead of Week 18

The Panthers play a division-deciding game against the Buccaneers in Week 18. Rico Dowdle missed practice, but this should not affect his availability.
Thomas Carelli|
Dec 28, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle (5) runs the ball against Seattle Seahawks safety Ty Okada (39) and linebacker Drake Thomas (42) (obscured) during the second quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
Dec 28, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle (5) runs the ball against Seattle Seahawks safety Ty Okada (39) and linebacker Drake Thomas (42) (obscured) during the second quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

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Carolina Panthers

Viola... Rico Dowdle is on the injury report, once again, after he sat out of Tuesday practice. This has high implications ahead of a game that may well decide the Panthers season. If anything but this happens — Tampa Bay and Atlanta win — the Panthers make the playoffs. They will be at full-gas this weekend and it could be without Dowdle. How does this pan out for Carolina? Perhaps not so bad...

Fantasy Football Impact

If Dowdle is out, this slots Chuba Hubbard into a high-volume role. This was a role that many expected to be the case preseason, but Dowdle breakout marred its ability to happen. Nonetheless, Hubbard is one of the best RB2's in the NFL.

With Hubbard starting, we will play well ahead of Trevor Etienne. For a team that is averaging (122.4) Rushing Yards per Game, Hubbard will likely have 60-80% of these yards. This means that Hubbard has 100+ Yard upside if all goes according to perfection.

The Buccaneers are 7th in Rushing Yards Allowed. They are just 21st versus the Running Backs, being abysmal versus pass-catching Running Backs. Hubbard is average in that respect.

Stock Watch if Dowdle is Out

Chuba Hubbard would rise to be a very solid RB2 with RB1 upside. He must be started.

Trevor Etienne works in a 3rd down role. He is not roster-able, especially in the final week of the NFL Season.

Rico Dowdle Misses Practice with Ankle Injury

Dowdle sat out of Tuesday practice with an ankle injury. However, Dave Canales is labeling this as a rest day more than anything. This will be the biggest game of the season for the Panthers. They must be all hands on deck.

The injury is not deemed serious at all. In addition to this, Dowdle will be extremely eager to play. He is just (7) Yards away from a $1 Million incentive bonus, plus (1) Touchdown away from another $500k incentive bonus. It will not be top priority, as winning is just that, be it will be well on everyone's mind to get Dowdle yards, and get him into the endzone.

We can expect that Dowdle will play and be a must-start, thus downgrading Hubbard to your bench.

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Thomas Carelli
THOMAS CARELLI

Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.

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