Dowdle did not play in Thursday's 28-9 preseason win over the Packers, Chris Harlan of Triblive.com reports.
Neither Dowdle nor Jaylen Warren suited up for Thursday's game, which saw Lew Nichols and rookie seventh-rounder Eli Heidenreich handle the bulk of the carries. Warren is listed as the Steelers' RB1 on the first unofficial depth chart that was released Aug. 5, but head coach Mike McCarthy wants to balance the workload between Warren and Dowdle, per Brian Batko of the team's official site. Dowdle has rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of his last two seasons, but he saw his usage dip over the last few weeks of the 2025 season.