The Pittsburgh Steelers brought Rico Dowdle in to give Jaylen Warren a running mate. Six games into the season, though, the veteran running back is already being mentioned as someone Pittsburgh might be better off moving before the NFL trade deadline.
Dowdle returned from a three-game absence in Sunday’s 26-19 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and gave the Steelers the kind of production they hoped for when they signed him in March. His performance, however, hasn’t quieted questions about how much room there is for him in the backfield.
With Warren carrying the offense and the Nov. 10 deadline approaching, a new proposal has Dowdle potentially helping Pittsburgh more as a trade piece than as a backup.
Rico Dowdle Named Steelers Trade Candidate
Steelers Wire’s Andrew Vasquez included Dowdle on an Oct. 20 list of three Steelers who could be moved at the deadline, alongside backup quarterback Mason Rudolph and linebacker Patrick Queen. Vasquez didn’t report that Pittsburgh is actively shopping Dowdle. His argument was that Warren’s production has made the veteran a potential trade piece.
Vasquez wrote that Dowdle looked outstanding in his return against Tampa Bay but argued Warren shouldn’t be losing carries while playing this well. His preferred outcome involved a trade rather than Pittsburgh simply releasing Dowdle.
“Dealing Dowdle to a competitor in search of a running back would be best for Dowdle, the Steelers, and wherever he’d end up,” Vasquez wrote.
Dowdle carried seven times for 40 yards and caught three passes for nine yards in Tampa, averaging 5.7 yards per rush. Warren had 14 carries for 50 yards, plus two catches for another 28 yards. The performance came against a Tampa Bay defense that entered the game allowing just 72.8 rushing yards per contest, the second-fewest in the NFL.
Dowdle had missed Pittsburgh’s previous three games with a dislocated toe, an absence that gave Warren the opportunity to take over. Before the injury, Dowdle managed just 37 rushing yards on 15 carries in the first two games. Through three appearances, he has 77 rushing yards and seven receptions for 37 yards.
Jaylen Warren’s Start Complicates Rico Dowdle’s Role
Warren has rushed for 460 yards on 84 carries through six games, averaging 5.5 yards per attempt. He’s added 21 receptions for 258 yards, giving him 718 yards from scrimmage and two total touchdowns. He ran for 127 yards against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3 and followed with 188 scrimmage yards against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 5.
The Steelers signed Dowdle to a two-year, $12.25 million contract in March. The investment made sense given his recent production. He rushed for 1,079 yards with the Dallas Cowboys in 2024, then added 1,076 yards and six rushing touchdowns for the Carolina Panthers last season. Dowdle also previously played for Steelers coach Mike McCarthy in Dallas.
Those back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons are part of what could make Dowdle attractive to another team. They also explain why the Steelers might be reluctant to move a proven back after finally getting him healthy.
Pittsburgh sits at 4-2 after consecutive wins over Indianapolis and Tampa Bay. Warren has established himself as the top option, but the Steelers would be giving up experienced insurance behind him if they followed Vasquez’s suggestion.
Lew Nichols and Travis Homer are among the alternatives behind Warren, neither with a 1,000-yard NFL season on his résumé.
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