Fantasy Football News

Panthers RB Jonathon Brooks said Tuesday that he's been fully cleared to participate in the offseason program, according to The Athletic's Joe Person. Brooks missed the entire 2025 season after tearing his right ACL for the second time in a 13-month span. Brooks added Tuesday that he feels "close to 100%."

ESPN's David Newton doesn't expect free agent RB Rico Dowdle to return to the Panthers. "Unless Dowdle wants to return at a bargain price, he appears headed to his third team in three seasons," Newton wrote via ESPN.

Panthers RBs Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle split touches throughout the team’s win over the Los Angeles Rams, but Hubbard outproduced Dowdle. Hubbard went 17-83-0 on the ground and 2-41-1 through the air. Dowdle went 18-58-0 on the ground and 2-21-0 through the air. Hubbard also outsnapped Dowdle 38 to 27 with Hubbard running 15 routes to Dowdle’s 6. This could make both only borderline starts moving forward despite the heavy lean on the run game.

Panthers RB Rico Dowdle ran all over the Cowboys in Sunday’s 30-27 win. He racked up 183 rushing yards on a career-high 30 attempts, along with 4 catches and 1 TD on a career-high 56 receiving yards.

Panthers RB Rico Dowdle dominated the Dolphins with 206 yards and 1 score on 23 attempts. His 32.4 PPR points marked the fourth-best fantasy output for a RB this season.

The Panthers are expected to deactivate RB Chuba Hubbard for Sunday's game against the Dolphins. Hubbard has missed practice this week after aggravating a calf injury he tried to play through in the loss to the Patriots. Rico Dowdle's the next man up.

Panthers RB Chuba Hubbard (calf) is listed as questionable for this weekend’s game vs. the Patriots. He was added to the injury report and limited in practice on Thursday -- and was limited again on Friday. We’ll look for further updates on Hubbard’s status and get Carolina’s inactives around 11:30 am ET on Sunday. Hubbard’s absence would leave Rico Dowdle as lead back, with rookie Trevor Etienne the No. 2.

Panthers RB Chuba Hubbard was added to Thursday's injury report and limited in practice with a calf. That likely means he injured the calf in practice today, although we don't have confirmation. We'll look for further updates on Hubbard and see how he's listed on Friday's final injury report. His absence vs. the Patriots this weekend would leave Rico Dowdle as Carolina's lead back, with rookie Trevor Etienne as the No. 2.

Panthers RB Chuba Hubbard wound up with a nice Week 1 fantasy line, ranking seventh among PPR scorers at the position with Monday night's game yet to go. But his 27-yard catch-and-run TD late in the fourth quarter did the heavy lifting, accounting for 54.2% of his fantasy points. Otherwise, Hubbard managed just 57 rushing yards on 16 carries (3.6 per rush) and 2 catches for 5 yards.

The Panthers placed RB Jonathon Brooks on the Physically Unable to Perform list on Thursday. Brooks, who tore his ACL in Week 14, will miss the entire 2025 season.

The Panthers selected Georgia RB Trevor Etienne in Round 4 of the 2025 NFL Draft. Brother of Jags RB Travis Etienne, Trevor flashed star ability at Florida but could never win the starting job. Across 2022-2023, he totaled 1,472 rushing yards and 14 TDs, topping out at 131 carries. He transferred to Georgia for 2024 but played second fiddle to highly touted true freshman Nate Frazier. So, despite excellent short-area footwork, sharp cutting ability, and a developed receiving skill set, Etienne’s college profile is subpar. On the positive side: He aced the pre-draft process, starting with a great Senior Bowl week. He also tested well at the NFL Combine, posting an 88th percentile forty-yard dash and an 82nd percentile broad jump at nearly 5'9, 198 pounds.

Former Ohio State RB Quinshon Judkins ran a blazing 4.48 40-yard dash with a 1.51 10-yard split (96th percentile). He also had a 38.5" Vertical (93rd Percentile) and 11'00 Broad Jump (99th Percentile). Judkins did all of this at a hefty 5'11 5/8 and 221 pounds.