Rico Dowdle's Mom Predicted Steelers Would Sign Him

The Pittsburgh Steelers had one of the best running back tandems in the league last season, with Jaylen Warren accounting for 1,291 yards and Kenneth Gainwell racking up 1,023 yards – the only running back tandem in the league to go over 1,000 yards each.

After losing Gainwell in free agency, though, the Steelers had a need at the position. Enter Rico Dowdle’s mom, Leslie, who knew the former Carolina Panthers running back was headed to Pittsburgh in free agency after the team hired his former head coach while with the Dallas Cowboys: Mike McCarthy.

“She called me and said, ‘You’re going to Pittsburgh,'” Dowdle said Thursday, via The Associated Press. “Like, soon as he got hired, that’s the first thing she said.”

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After sitting behind Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard, Dowdle capitalized in his lone season as the starting running back of the Cowboys registering career-high marks in rushing yards (1,079). His reward was being left to hit the open market and after a dominant start to the 2025 season with the Carolina Panthers he was once again released to free agency.

Now paired with Warren, Dowdle believes the team has a great one-two punch.

“We got two guys who can go out there and do the job at a high level,” Dowdle said. “The coaches will decide how that goes. And I just come out here and put my best foot forward each day and let the rest take care of itself.”

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This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 7:36 PM.