Panthers

Panthers RB Rico Dowdle has played well in RB Chuba Hubbard‘s absence over the past two weeks, recording 234 total yards in Week 5 and 239 total yards in Week 6. Hubbard hasn’t been surprised by Dowdle’s success after the running back looked great in training camp. 

“To be honest, none of this really surprised me,” Hubbard said, via Kassidy Hill of the team’s site. “Rico’s a great player. I mean amazing player. He’s shown it throughout camp every time he’s been here. He works hard. The opportunity came, he made the most of it, and yeah, like I said, it’s not a surprise.”

Panthers HC Dave Canales has been impressed by Dowdle and mentioned that he had a strong practice on Wednesday. 

“He looked great,” Canales said. “He looked great last week (when) he started to ramp up. Today he looked awesome out there running around. He’s got a real focused look in his eyes, he’s hungry and he can’t wait to get back out there.”

As for how Carolina will split carries when Hubbard returns to the lineup, Dowdle said that is up to Canales. 

“All that stuff is left up to the coach, and then the only thing we can control is going out there and producing at a high level. That’s all we really have to control. We are pretty close and there’s no hard feelings either way.”

Panthers

Panthers DC Ejiro Evero said that losing OLB Pat Jones II is a huge blow to the defense because of all the roles he was able to fill for the unit.

“He was doing a heck of a job,” Evero said, via Panthers Wire. “The ability to play inside, on pass-rush situations, to play on the edge, just the play style he has, the physicality, the effort, the intelligence, what he means in that room—all those things are, obviously, gonna be missed. But that’s the nature of what we do, and it’s next man up. So the guys that are coming in now have to assume those responsibilities and have to be able to produce.”

Saints

• Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated would be surprised to see the Saints have a fire sale this season, given GM Mickey Loomis’ tendency to hold onto aging stars.
• Breer doubts that New Orleans will look to trade RB Alvin Kamara, LB Demario Davis, DE Cam Jordan, or WR Chris Olave.