This will work out well for Carolina at least.
Why Cowboys let Rico Dowdle leave, doing the Panthers' RB depth chart a major solid originally appeared on The Sporting News
The Carolina Panthers are certainly grateful for the solid that the Dallas Cowboys did for them this offseason.
The Cowboys could've brought back Rico Dowdle to their running back room, but they didn't.
In turn, the Panthers signed Dowdle to be their backup RB to Chuba Hubbard. And now in Week 5, the Panthers will be without Hubbard due to injury, so Dowdle will be pressed into a starting role. It's not a bad spot for the Panthers to be in.
Dowdle had a career year last season for the Cowboys, and the Panthers will get to find out now how much of that was for real.
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Why did the Cowboys let Rico Dowdle leave?
The Cowboys clearly felt Dowdle couldn't repeat his 2024 production.
He carried the ball 235 times for 1,079 yards, a 4.6 yards per carry average. He also caught 39 passes for 249 yards. In total, Dowdle scored five touchdowns.
He had only run for 385 career yards dating to his rookie season in 2020, so it was a massive breakout.
So they let him leave in free agency.
Dowdle signed a one-year contract with Carolina for $6.25 million (although only $2.75 million in base value). Javonte Williams came to Dallas for one year and a base value of $3 million (and the Cowboys also added Miles Sanders and rookie Jaydon Blue).
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Panthers RB depth chart
With Chuba Hubbard out, this is the Panthers' RB depth chart:
- Rico Dowdle
- Trevor Etienne
- DeeJay Dallas
Dowdle should see the majority of the walk, but Etienne will likely be a factor as well.
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