Josh Alper ,
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There was no question about who the starting running back was for the Panthers when Chuba Hubbard hurt his calf ahead of Week 5, but things are less clear with him back at practice this week.
Rico Dowdle’s 389 rushing yards and 473 yards from scrimmage in the two games Hubbard missed — both of which were Panthers wins — have made a strong case for a change at the top of the depth chart in Carolina. Head coach Dave Canales didn’t say if that will be the case against the Jets this week, but said Dowdle “earned the right to help this team, and he will, and we’ll find a way to do that.”
Dowdle said he isn’t going to make a big deal about when he’s on the field because “the only thing we can control is going out there and producing at a high level.”
“It don’t really matter who’s starting, just a matter about going out there, getting a win and executing and then as long as we all getting the ball and things like that and it’s helping the team win, so it really don’t matter,” Dowdle said, via the team’s website.
Hubbard said that he feels “110 percent” heading into this weekend’s game against the Jets and that his mindset is that it is not important “whether it’s first, last, middle of the game,” so both backs seem content with however everything plays out. The longer the Panthers can keep winning, the longer that’s likely to remain the case.
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