Steelers RB Rico Dowdle says 2026 matchup vs. Panthers is ‘circled’ after exit
Rico Dowdle is already looking forward to a Carolina reunion. But his intentions might not be all that warm and fuzzy.
The newly minted Steelers running back was introduced to the Pittsburgh media Friday. When Dowdle was asked whether the media should circle the soon-to-be-scheduled matchup with the Panthers on the season calendar, the former South Carolina Gamecocks playmaker answered in the affirmative.
“It’s definitely circled,” Dowdle said with a chuckle. “It’s definitely circled, for sure.”
Dowdle, who produced a career-high 1,373 scrimmage yards in 2025, spent just one year with Carolina.
The Panthers signed Dowdle to an incentive-laden one-year deal last March, and he ended up succeeding starter Chuba Hubbard in the lineup throughout the second half of the 8-9 campaign. During a five-game stretch, from Week 5 to Week 9, Dowdle rushed for 655 yards and three touchdowns as the Panthers went 4-1 in that span.
However, Dowdle finished with 147 total rushing yards and a touchdown in the final four regular-season games of 2025. He was also outrushed by Hubbard in the playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams in January.
Dowdle responded to criticism of his performance down the stretch on social media on Friday, seemingly taking a shot at coach Dave Canales’ offensive play-calling.
“Get (sic) hard when you run the same thing 75/100 times,” Dowdle said with the use of “melting face” and “shushing face” emojis.
Canales announced at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis last month that he planned to turn play-calling over to offensive coordinator Brad Idzik in 2026.
Idzik famously acknowledged that he sought out his running backs’ preferences in designing plays following a Week 2 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
“Rico and Chuba like different things,” Idzik said in September. “We were actually in the walkthrough yesterday, and we were talking about — I don’t want to tell everybody what they are — but we were talking about some of the schemes that they’ve done in the past. And it becomes apparent that these guys are all different, and they all feel different schemes a little bit in their own way.”
Following the second win against the Atlanta Falcons last season, Dowdle acknowledged that he pushed the coaches to call a play that led to a 28-yard gain on a go-head scoring drive in Atlanta. Following Friday’s press conference in Pittsburgh, Dowdle claimed on “X” that was the last time the coaches took his advice.
“Last time I had any type of input (face with tears of joy emoji) omm,” Dowdle posted with the video of the play quoted.
Dowdle agreed to a two-year, $12.25 million deal with the Steelers on Monday, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
While general manager Dan Morgan said he was open to the possibility of re-signing Dowdle at the NFL combine, the top decision-maker wished the running back well if he was able to find a better opportunity to cash in on a career year.
Dowdle had several memorable moments in 2025. From the self-called play in Atlanta to the “double pump” celebration in Green Bay, which led to an NFL fine and a local charity receiving a generous donation from a GoFundMe drive. But his first big soundbite was telling his former team, the Dallas Cowboys, to “buckle up” ahead of a Week 6 win in Carolina.
Dowdle produced 239 scrimmage yards and a touchdown against Dallas, his former employer, in 2025.
The Panthers hope Dowdle doesn’t have similar success against them during the upcoming season. The “circled” matchup will be announced later this offseason and will take place at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh.
This story was originally published March 13, 2026 at 6:31 PM with the headline "Steelers RB Rico Dowdle says 2026 matchup vs. Panthers is ‘circled’ after exit."
