The Panthers are picking up some depth for their defensive front.
Per Joe Person of TheAthletic.com, Carolina is signing edge rusher Trevis Gipson off of San Francisco’s practice squad.
Gipson, 28, has bounced between the 49ers’ 53-man roster and practice squad this season. He’s appeared in four games, playing 80 defensive snaps and 29 special teams snaps, recording a pair of tackles and a fumble recovery.
A Bears fifth-round pick in 2020, Gipson has appeared in 57 career games with 19 starts. He’s recorded 11.0 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, and 21 quarterback hits for Chicago, Tennessee, Seattle, and San Francisco.
The Panthers will need to make a corresponding move to officially add Gipson to the 53-man roster.
Rico Dowdle earned the starting job while Chuba Hubbard was injured, with 472 yards from scrimmage in the two games Hubbard missed. Yet, the Panthers returned Hubbard to the starting lineup on Sunday.
Hubbard had 12 carries for 34 yards and a touchdown, while Dowdle ran eight times for 54 yards in the loss to the Bills.
The Panthers now can’t ignore the numbers, with coach Dave Canales acknowledging the obvious on Monday. Dowdle has the hot hand.
Hubbard understands and is ready for whatever his role is.
“I mean, whatever, whether it’s 70/30, 50/50, 100 my way or Rico’s way, whatever it is, my focus is winning,” Hubbard said, via Kassidy Hill of the team website. “My main focus is never solely about me. It’s always about the team and winning games.”
While his role might change, Hubbard said his approach won’t.
“To be honest, I mean, you guys have obviously known me for the last four or five years. I’m someone who prides myself on work, work, work, work,” Hubbard said. “Everything I do — I’m a man of faith, a follower of Christ — and whatever my journey comes with, I take the good and the bad. So, in moments like this, I just continue to work. I’ve been through worse days and worse things, and people have scrutinized me for stuff all five years I’ve been here.
“But, one thing is, I just pride myself on my work, like I said, and also just helping us get wins here. So, I do whatever it takes and just continue with that mindset.”
Hubbard has 94 touches for 400 yards and three touchdowns in six games this season.
The Panthers moved Chuba Hubbard back into the starting lineup when the running back returned from a calf strain in Week 7, but it sounds like Rico Dowdle may be returning to the role he filled while Hubbard is out.
Dowdle ran eight times for 54 yards in Sunday’s loss to the Bills while Hubbard had 12 carries for 34 yards and a touchdown. Dowdle also led the team in rushing in Week 7 and he posted 472 yards from scrimmage in his two starts earlier this season.
On Monday, head coach Dave Canales said that Dowdle has been “exceptional” and that conversations about how to handle the timeshare in the backfield will “definitely” be taking place in the coming days.
“That’s something we’re looking at, and you know, again, we have to respect the job that Chuba has done for us, to get us to the point where we’ve established a mentality about how we run,” Canales said, via the team’s website. “And we cannot ignore the fact that Rico has made an impact when he’s been out there. So these are things that we’re talking through as a staff, and we’ll make that decision as the week goes on.”
The Panthers fell to 4-4 with Sunday’s loss and they’ll hope to have quarterback Bryce Young back with Dowdle and Hubbard for their Week 9 road game against the Packers.
Though he missed Sunday’s loss to the Bills, Panthers quarterback Bryce Young is getting closer to returning from an ankle injury.
Head coach Dave Canales provided an update on the quarterback during his Monday press conference.
“With Bryce, [he’s] just getting better every day,” Canales said. “Had a good session running today in return-to-play. The goal is to get him out there on Wednesday, move him around, see if we can get him into practice in a mode. So, I’m optimistic he’ll be out there. But we’re going to take it day-to-day with him.”
Young suffered the injury during the Week 7 win over the Jets. Andy Dalton played poorly in his start against Buffalo yesterday, finishing 16-of-24 for 175 yards with an interception and two lost fumbles.
In his third season, Young has completed 62 percent of his throws for 1,288 yards with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions so far in 2025. He’s also rushed for 69 yards with a TD.
The Panthers will be on the road to face the Packers in Week 9.
The Bills may have gotten off to a bit of a slow start in their first game after their bye, but the club had no trouble dispatching of the Panthers for a dominant 40-9 victory.
Running back James Cook set a new career high with 216 yards, accomplishing it on just 19 carries. His long on the day was a 64-yard touchdown midway through the second quarter that put his team up 12-3. Cook then put in a 21-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter to make the score 33-3.
Cook had seven runs of at least 10 yards during the contest, illustrating the dominance of the ground attack. As noted on the Fox broadcast, Cook’s 216 yards were the most by a Bills running back since O.J. Simpson in 1976.
Buffalo finished the contest with 245 rushing yards, surpassing their previous high of 224 against the Jets in Week 2.
Quarterback Josh Allen didn’t need to do much in the passing game, finishing the contest 12-of-19 for 163 yards with a touchdown before Mitchell Trubisky came in for mop-up work. But Allen also had 7 yards on three carries with two TDs. It’s Allen’s 46th game with a passing and a rushing touchdown, pushing him past Cam Newton for the most in NFL history.
Khalil Shakir took a pass than went 4 yards in front of the line of scrimmage and made it 54 yards down the field for a 54-yard touchdown, exemplifying Carolina’s poor tackling on the day.
Starting for the injured Bryce Young, backup QB Andy Dalton played poorly all game. He finished 16-of-24 for 175 yards with an interception and two lost fumbles. He also took an unacceptable sack at the end of the first half that made a field goal attempt much more rushed than it should’ve been, as the Panthers had no timeouts. Ryan Fitzgerald missed the 32-yard attempt to keep the score at 19-3, Buffalo, at the break.
While Chuba Hubbard still started at running back, Rico Dowdle was much more productive at the position. Dowdle had 54 yards on eight carries while Hubbard had 12 for 34 yards.
The Bills lost defensive tackle Ed Oliver to a biceps injury, as he was ruled out in the first half.
The Panthers had several injury concerns, with linebacker Trevin Wallace exiting midway through the third quarter for a concussion evaluation. He was subsequently ruled out. Right tackle Taylor Moton was ruled out with a knee injury. Carolina also lost right guard Brady Christensen when he went down early in the fourth quarter and defensive tackle Derrick Brown was examined on the sideline midway through the fourth quarter.
With the win, the Bills are 5-2 and are now set up for a big showdown at home against the Chiefs in Week 9.
The Panthers fall to 4-4 and will be on the road to face the Packers next Sunday.
