The Pittsburgh Steelers entered their first offseason without Mike Tomlin as head coach. Instead, it was Mike McCarthy running the show with general manager Omar Khan to build the roster in his image. One of the notable moves the Steelers made was signing former Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle on a two-year, $12.25 million contract.
Dowdle showed last season that he can find ways to be incredibly motivated. Notably, gaining "revenge" against a team that moved on from him. Let's just say that Dowdle is following a similar strategy in his first season with the Steelers.
During his introductory press conference with the Steelers on Friday, Dowdle was asked about facing the Panthers in Pittsburgh and if will classify it as a revenge game. Dowdle said that he is fully aware of when that game will be taking place.
"It's definitely circled. It's definitely circled, for sure," said Dowdle.
New #Steelers RB Rico Dowdle says he already has this season’s Panthers–Steelers game circled on his calendar.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) March 13, 2026
Dowdle had 239 yards in a revenge game vs. the Cowboys last season. pic.twitter.com/Ma1207zgcX
Rico Dowdle has date of revenge game against Panthers 'circled'
Let's just say that this got the attention of Panthers fans. When one fan got word of Dowdle's comments, they tagged the running back with a message saying he should have been "circling them run gaps down the stretch." Dowdle responded by saying, "Get hard when you run the same thing 75/100 times."
Get hard when you run the same thing 75/100 times. 🫠🤫 https://t.co/s7RhOoh7UY
— Rico Dowdle (@ricodowdle) March 13, 2026
Last season, Dowdle was not re-signed by the Dallas Cowboys, allowing him to sign a one-year contract with the Panthers. In Week 6 of last season, Dowdle had the chance to make the Cowboys regret trading him away. On 30 carries, Dowdle ran for 183 yards. Additionally, Dowdle caught four of five targets for 56 yards and a touchdown.
On the season, Dowdle ran for 1,076 yards and six touchdowns on 236 carries, while also catching 39-of-50 targets for 297 yards and a touchdown.
Now, after hitting free agency, Dowdle is with the Steelers, while the Panthers appear to be moving forward with Chuba Hubbard and Jonathon Brooks as their top two running backs. Considering Dowdle's comments on Friday, Steelers fans are hoping he can have a similar performance in this revenge game against the Panthers like he did last season against the Cowboys.