Darin Gantt

PALM BEACH, Fla. Dave Canales has made it clear he wants the Panthers to be a running team.

If that wasn't made evident by the investments along the offensive line, their continued additions to the backfield ought to make it clear.

They extendedChuba Hubbardlast fall, draftedJonathon Brooksin the second round last year, and when Brooks suffered another knee injury, signed former Dallas starterRico Dowdlein free agency to keep that group stocked.

"It's really just fit. It's continuity," Canales said Tuesday, during the NFL's annual meeting at The Breakers resort. "It's having Chuba as that patient, vision, downhill, tough running style. When I talk about Rico, it's patient, vision, running, toughness, just like attitude on the sideline. So, for me, it's just the continuity that we're afforded when you have two guys with the same type of style.

"I know some people try to have people that complement each other with different attributes. Man, if you got two war daddies like that who can go in there and keep that attitude and that toughness going for the group, I think it's really critical that you have."

But Canales doesn't view Dowdle as a different kind of back from Hubbard, but another qualified guy, in the spirit of the Jonathan Stewart-DeAngelo Williams days of Panthers past. He said he began believing in the need for that in his days in Seattle and has carried it through his career. While some think of running back tandems in the context of a third-down back who is more of a pass-catcher, Canales wants both of his backs to have the same skills.

"My philosophy with the running backs is you take the best runner. So, I'm not looking for a style. I'm not looking for a complement," he said. "If you start with a good runner, what ends up happening a lot of times is a guy busts his shoelace, and the other guy's in. You always have a good runner. You're never pigeonholed with like, this guy is really more of a receiving type of back or this guy is really more of a this or that. And that came from Pete (Carroll), came from Tom Cable and my years in Seattle. It was like just pick the best runners, and if they have other cool attributes, we'll incorporate that into the offense."

Hubbard and Dowdle were among the most productive backs in the league last year, each going over 1,000 yards rushing (giving them two of the top 15 rushers last year) and 1,300 yards from scrimmage (making the Panthers the only team with two in the top 20).

Hubbard had 1,195 rushing yards and 171 receiving yards (1,366 total), while Dowdle had 1,079 rushing and 249 receiving (1,328 total).

NFL tables tush push vote until May, moves touchbacks to 35

While the much-discussed tush-push vote was tabled until the league's May meeting, a number of other rules changes and adjustments were voted on Tuesday.

The league made last year's one-year experiment with the dynamic kickoff a permanent rule, though they did move the touchback spot to the 35-yard line. The hope is that this will lead to more returns.

The Panthers received a league high 112 kickoffs last season, which was the most in the league by a wide margin. Of that total, 66 were touchbacks taken at the 30, which was tied for fourth in the league. Competition committee chair Rich McKay told reporters that the league anticipates the rate of returns to go up to between 60 percent and 70 percent if the recommendation passes.

Last year, only 32.8 percent of kickoffs were returned, up from 21.8 the year before when a touchback placed the ball at the 20. There were 59 returns of 40 yards or more last year, the highest figure since 2016.

The league did not alter onside kick rules, though that could come up later.

The league also voted to make postseason and regular season overtime rules the same, giving both teams the ball in overtime. They also expanded the use of instant replay but voted against a proposal to eliminate the automatic first down for defensive holding and illegal contact.

While the Panthers are never going to be among the teams using the tush push as long as Bryce is the quarterback, Canales was hesitant to pile on with those who want to take away Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts' advantage.

"The statistics certainly don't say that it's a dangerous play, although there are concerns about the posture," he said. "And if it's about a competitive conversation, the Eagles just coach it better than the rest of us. So I don't want to take away a competitive advantage from a team that's figured out how to have the quarterback sneak so effective. The way they do it's a part of it, yes, but I think the conversations have been more about the player safety issue."

Contact with free agents now allowed during negotiation period

Another resolution that passed Tuesday would have certainly applied to the Panthers this year.

The league approved a one-year experiment with allowing teams to have contact with unrestricted free agents during the two-day negotiating window.

The new rule allows one phone or video call with the player during that window, and allows the teams to make travel arrangements with players once they agreed to terms. This year, teams weren't allowed to talk to players (only their agents) or arrange travel until the league year started.

During the negotiating window this year, the Panthers agreed to deals with four external free agentsTre'von Moehrig,Bobby Brown III,Tershawn Wharton, andPatrick Jones II.

Of course, the goal is to not ever be that busy during free agency once they stabilize the roster, so they might not get as much use from it in years to come.