It’s no secret that Rico Dowdle, the Carolina Panthers’ unrelenting running back, played through pain on Sunday against the Packers.
And on Wednesday, he landed on the injury report.
Officially, Dowdle did not participate in practice due to a quad injury. He wore a uniform and was on the Panthers’ practice field grass but broke away from the team once individual drills began and did light work off to the side with other injured players, including offensive lineman Chandler Zavala.
So what’s next? His status for the upcoming game against the Saints isn’t for certain — though head coach Dave Canales appeared pretty optimistic that he’ll be ready to go Sunday.
“He was just working through some stuff during the game, and we wanted to be smart about it,” Canales told reporters Wednesday. “We’re counting on him this weekend. So we wanted to make sure to get him on the right track so he can get out there tomorrow, get some practice reps in.
“As he continues to emerge as an important part of what we’re doing, we gotta make sure we get him to game day, he’s ready to go. That’ll be the plan.”
It would have required a vigilant eye to see Dowdle struggle on Sunday against the Packers. He winced between plays, limped off to the sideline at times, (not all that dissimilar to what Michael Jordan did during a certain game when he purportedly had the flu) dominated while the ball was live and fell into his teammate’s arms when he wasn’t.
Dowdle took 25 carries for two touchdowns and 130 yards. Nineteen of those yards came on his last run, when the Panthers, on an obvious passing down, opted to run the ball and ended up in field goal range because of it. The rest, thanks to the right foot of kicker Ryan Fitzgerald, is written in that 16-13 history.
As of Wednesday, the plan appears that Dowdle will participate Thursday in the hopes of getting reps in during the most practice day of the week with the intention to play Sunday. His presence would be a massive boon to this Panthers offense, no doubt. The team’s three best days of moving the ball on the ground have come when Dowdle has been the unquestioned No. 1 back — Week 5 against the Dolphins, Week 6 against the Cowboys and then Week 9 against the Packers.
As of Wednesday’s updated stats via ESPN, Dowdle was third in rushing yards in the NFL (735), third in average yards per carry (5.6), tied for fifth in first downs (35) and eighth in rush attempts (131). His performance against the Packers didn’t yield him another NFC Offensive Player of the Week award — but it did give him a FedEx Air & Ground Player of the Week award, his second such distinction already this season.
All this said, the fact that Dowdle is working through an injury affirms the Panthers’ belief that they will use all of their running backs one way or another throughout the course of this season. And when they do, they’ll have faith they’ll be ready, Canales said.
“If it’s Chuba (Hubbard) rolling out there, I’ll feel great,” Canales said. “I feel very confident in him being able to execute the things the way we want them to be done. And if it came to that situation, Trevor Etienne.
“You know, he’s done a great job continuing to grow as a returner. He did an excellent job last week in pretty challenging conditions, fielding the ball for us. All of that hidden yardage is so important. ... So he just keeps improving for us in that way, too.”
Here’s what else you should know from Wednesday’s availability.
Panthers host free-agent cornerback for a visit
The Panthers hosted cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. for a visit Wednesday. The 26-year-old former second-round draft pick has been a free agent all season after undergoing a spinal fusion procedure this offseason.
Samuel started 47 of the 50 games he played in between his rookie year in 2021 and 2024. In that time he notched 176 tackles, six interceptions, 37 passes defended and a fumble recovery. He also had a standout college career at Florida State, which included a first-team All-ACC selection in 2020.
The 5-foot-10, 185-pound defensive back is known for his versatility — something defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero values highly. Just look at starting safety Tre’Von Moehrig and cornerback/nickel Chau Smith-Wade; both have flashed this year in Evero’s system.
Canales said he hasn’t watched him on the field, but that the team brought Samuel in for a meeting to talk to him.
“Really nice conversation with him,” Canales said. “A fantastic player for the Chargers for a while. Has played in our scheme. All of those things. It’s part of our process. When there are guys coming back from injury, that are ready to go, let’s look at all of them. Because you never know. It’s a long season.”
Fun moment: Tre’Von Moehrig had a premonition Sunday
Moehrig was announced as the NFC Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday by virtue of his one-interception, five-tackle day against the Green Bay Packers in the team’s win. That means that the Panthers have earned conference player of the week honors after four of its five wins: running back Dowdle won after Week 5, kicker Ryan Fitzgerald won after Week 6 and punter Sam Martin won after Week 7.
Moehrig is the first Panthers safety to earn the honor since 2014.
But such an award started with a premonition from him and his head coach, Moehrig said. Just let the hard-hitting smiley safety tell it in front of his locker:
“I came off the field at halftime, kind of feeling it, and coach Canales came up to me and said, ‘You’re going to get one.’ And he said, ‘I’ll feel it too.’ And so as soon as it happened, that kind of went through my head our exchange. It was crazy how it all came together.”
Had Moehrig had a premonition like that before?
“Yeah, actually I have,” Moehrig said. “It was Year 3. I think it was the last game of the season. I told my mom, I said, I’m gonna get a pick. ‘I’m going to find you in the stands, and I’m gonna throw it to you.’ I think it was against the Patriots. Last play of the game. Threw it up there. Pick. End of the game. And I had no clue where my mom was sitting or nothing. But as soon as I looked up, I saw my mom in the stands, I just saw my mom. I found her. I threw her the ball. And that was kind of the only other one.”
Injury report Wednesday
Did not practice: G Chandler Zavala (elbow), RB Rico Dowdle (quad).
Limited in practice: S Lathan Ransom (illness).
Notably, several players who did not play in the Packers game last week were back and participated in practice in full on Wednesday. Among those players were outside linebacker Princely Umanmielen (originally sidelined with an ankle), center Cade Mays (ankle) and left guard Damien Lewis (oblique).
Quick hits
Austin Corbett will play right guard if Mays is back in the lineup and healthy enough to start at center, Canales told reporters. Corbett arrived in Charlotte as a right guard but moved over to center when the team needed him to in 2024. As he told The Observer on Wednesday, “Ultimately, I’ve played the most games of my career at right guard. So there’s a little familiarity there. So we’ll just play it by ear, day to day, see what happens when the pads come on.”
A’Shawn Robinson isn’t unfamiliar to November football. And the defensive lineman has been a source of accountability and strength for this Panthers defense. His message now that the team is playing consequential football deep into the fall? “It’s November time. It’s winning time. It’s when you get ready for December. So it’s how we see it. That’s exactly how we see it. ... All you gotta do is keep stacking them. And you’ll get your opportunity when it’s time.”
The Panthers are at or near the top of two interesting stats as they charge into their Week 10 contest with the Saints. First, they haven’t allowed a first-quarter offensive touchdown all year. That’s nine straight games with such a distinction. The next closest team is, oddly enough, the Packers with eight straight games like that. And then the Panthers are also the third-least penalized team in the league at 5.6 penalties per game, according to the team’s game notes. The only teams ahead of them are the Los Angeles Rams (5.1 penalties) and Cincinnati Bengals (5.2).