Carolina Panthers DVOA, Stats, & NFL Rankings

The Carolina Panthers have agreed on a deal with running back Raheem Blackshear. The two sides have agreed on a one year deal worth $985,000 for the 2024 season. The 24-year-old will return to Carolina after spending each of the last two seasons with the organization. He has mainly been used as a reserve back and special teams player. Through two seasons, Blackshear has 37 carries for 123 yards and three touchdowns in 25 games. There is unlikely to be fantasy value here unless Carolina loses one or two running backs due to injury.

The Dallas Cowboys are re-signing running back Rico Dowdle to an undisclosed deal on Monday. With Tony Pollard moving to the Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency, Dowdle is now No. 1 on the Cowboys' RB depth chart, for now. The 25-year-old former undrafted free agent out of South Carolina entered the league in 2020 with the Cowboys and has just 96 carries for 385 yards and two rushing touchdowns in his three NFL seasons, adding 17 receptions (22 targets) for 144 yards and two more touchdowns through the air. Eighty nine of his career carries came in 2023, when he rushed for 361 yards and two TDs in 16 regular-season contests. Depending on what Dallas does at the position in the upcoming NFL draft, Dowdle could see a substantial role increase in his fourth NFL campaign.

The Las Vegas Raiders are releasing wide receiver Hunter Renfrow when the new league year begins later on Wednesday, according to a source. Renfrow was to count $13.7 million against the 2024 salary cap. Along with Renfrow, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is being released, as expected. The move to cut Renfrow saves the Raiders $8.21 million in cap space this year. The 28-year-old veteran had a career year in 2021 by catching 103 passes for 1,038 yards and nine touchdowns, but he had just 61 combined receptions for 585 yards and two touchdowns in 27 games the last two years, making him an easy salary cap casualty this year. Depending on what other additions Vegas makes at the receiver position, Tre Tucker currently stands to benefit as the team's No. 3 wideout with the subtraction of Renfrow, behind top receivers Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers.

The Athletic's Tashan Reed suggests that Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Hunter Renfrow is a cut candidate this offseason. Renfrow was excellent in 2021, was named a Pro Bowler and was rewarded with a two-year, $32.3 million contract extension the following offseason that felt like a no-brainer at the time. But the extension has aged poorly. Renfrow couldn't stay healthy in 2022, played a career-low 35 percent of the offensive snaps last year, and has made just 61 catches since signing his extension. The Raiders would save around $8.1 million while taking a dead-money hit of $5.5 million if they cut or trade Renfrow before June 1. If they cut or trade him after June 1, they'll free up $11.8 million in salary cap space for 2024 while taking a dead-money hit of $1.8 million this year and a dead-money hit of $3.6 million in 2025.

University of Texas running back Jonathon Brooks (knee) suffered a torn ACL on November 11 in a win over Texas Christian University. Brooks rushed for 1,139 yards and ten touchdowns and caught 22 passes for 212 yards and one score in his lone season as a starter before suffering the knee injury 11 games into the year. However, he still opted to leave Texas early and declare for the 2024 NFL Draft. Dr. Dan Cooper projects that he should be cleared by training camp, a great sign for his draft stock and potential rookie season. He won't be able to participate in any pre-draft testing, but that hasn't stopped him from being the No. 1 running back on several draft analysts' big boards. There's no clear leader for the top running back like in past years with Bijan Robinson and Breece Hall, so draft capital will be as important as ever for fantasy football purposes.