Rico Dowdle News: Poised to take over as lead option

Head coach Dave Canales hinted Monday that he's inclined to give Dowdle the bulk of the Panthers' carries rather than having him split work evenly with Chuba Hubbard, Steve Reed of the Associated Press reports. "Chuba has meant a lot to this organization and certainly to the identity that we want to build and we wanted to give him the opportunity to go out there and to continue to impact our team in a positive way," Canales said. "But we cannot ignore the fact that Rico has been exceptional... We love tempo and violence that he is running with. These are things we are looking back on the last four games and really taking a snapshot of what has been successful for us."

While Hubbard was sidelined with a calf injury in Weeks 5 and 6, Dowdle took full advantage of his opportunity to serve as Carolina's lead back, amassing 473 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns in wins over the Dolphins and Cowboys. In the two games since Hubbard returned, he alternated series with the offseason signing, but Dowdle has handily been the more productive back, averaging 5.3 yards on 25 carries compared to the incumbent's 2.5 yards on 26 carries. Though Hubbard may be on the field for the first snap Sunday in Green Bay, Canales' comments point to the touches tilting more dramatically in Dowdle's favor.