Panthers' Rico Dowdle has $1 million contract incentive within reach

The Carolina Panthers signed Rico Dowdle in the offseason to be their backup running back.

He has turned out to be so much more since coming over from the Dallas Cowboys.

And now, Dowdle has a chance to earn himself an extra payday, too.

He has an incentive in his contract that pays him $1 million if he gets to 1,350 yards from scrimmage (rushing plus receiving) this season.

Entering Week 17, Dowdle has 1,280 scrimmage yards.

So that means 70 yards gets Dowdle a $1 million bonus. And he's got two weeks to do it. Certainly seems likely to happen.

Dowdle has shared his role more with Chuba Hubbard lately, but he's still performing very well for Carolina.

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It's also a key part of the season for the Panthers, who won in Week 16 to take a one-game lead on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC South.

If Carolina wins against the Seahawks and then against the Bucs in Week 18, they'll be in the playoffs, and even if they lose one, they still have paths to win the division.

That's in large part thanks to Dowdle. 

When Hubbard got hurt early in the year, Dowdle started and had more than 200 yards from scrimmage in back-to-back games. It was that run that helped the Panthers really get rolling this season.

Without Dowdle, there's no telling where the Panthers would be.

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