Chuba Hubbard injury fantasy tip: Panthers RB backups Rico Dowdle, Trevor Etienne may have Week 5 value

Billy Heyen

Chuba Hubbard injury fantasy tip: Panthers RB backups Rico Dowdle, Trevor Etienne may have Week 5 value image

The Carolina Panthers' backfield may be in flux this week.

Chuba Hubbard enters the week with his calf injury at a worse stage than it was last week, head coach Dave Canales told reporters on Wednesday, adding that the standout running back is day-to-day.

Hubbard didn't participate in Wednesday's practice.

The Panthers are home on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, and there's a chance they have to turn to their backup RBs to get the job done.

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Should I pick up Rico Dowdle or Trevor Etienne in fantasy?

Rico Dowdle is an obvious pickup for anyone who has Hubbard.

The former Cowboys running back, who ran for 1,000 yards just last season, should see a significant workload in the event that Hubbard misses action.

Dowdle is available in almost every league, but he's an RB2 or FLEX play against Miami if Hubbard is out.

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Etienne is only a deep-league stab. The younger brother of Jags RB Travis, Trevor isn't regarded as having as high an upside as his bro.

By the same token, the Panthers took Trevor in the fourth round and gave him seven carries (for 33 yards) a week ago, so he could be in the picture, too.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle