Panthers' Rico Dowdle: Misses practice with sore toe

Head coach Dave Canales said that Dowdle was held out of Tuesday's walk-through practice due to a sore toe, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.

Canales termed Dowdle's absence as a rest day and labeled him day-to-day, which suggests the Panthers aren't too concerned about the running back's availability for Saturday's regular-season finale at Tampa Bay. The Panthers will wait and see if Dowdle is able to get back on the practice field in some fashion Wednesday and/or Thursday before determining his status for Saturday. Given that the NFC South title may be at stake in the game, expect Dowdle to do everything in his power to suit up against the Buccaneers, and he also has plenty of financial incentive to be in the lineup -- he needs just seven more scrimmage yards to trigger a $1 million bonus in his contract.