The Carolina Panthers have been one of the hottest teams in football, having won three straight games to get to 4-3 and establish themselves as NFC playoff contenders.

Who had that on their bingo card?

While Bryce Young (who is now nursing an ankle injury) has not really taken the step forward that many hoped this season, the Panthers have been winning based on the strength of their defense (no, seriously) and their rushing attack, the latter of which has been spearheaded by Rico Dowdle.

Carolina signed Dowdle to a one-year deal in free agency, and he has obliged by racking up 468 yards over the last three weeks. On the season as a whole, he has totaled 551 yards and a couple of touchdowns while averaging 5.6 yards per carry. He has also logged 13 catches for 121 yards and a score.

The Panthers were expecting Dowdle to serve as the No. 2 back behind Chuba Hubbard, but his success while Hubbard was sidelined with a calf injury may have resulted in him grabbing the top spot for now.

So you'll probably find it odd, then, that Vinnie Iyer of Sporting News has actually pitched a trade that would send Dowdle to the Los Angeles Chargers before the deadline.

"The Panthers need to move either Dowdle or Chuba Hubbard to clear up their force backfield committee," Iyer wrote. "Given they paid Hubbard with a recent extension and Dowdle is a pending free agent with more appeal elsewhere, the latter is the better choice. The Chargers continue to fall apart in the backfield, down to relying on just Kimani Vidal, with Hassan Haskins now hurting with both Omarion Hampton and Najee Harris already on the shelf. Dowdle could clean that up for a strong AFC playoff contender."

Had the Panthers not moved into the NFC playoff picture in recent weeks, this would have been a pretty fair take, but now that Carolina is right in the thick of things, the chances of the Panthers trading Dowdle right now are slim to none.

Of course, there are still two weeks that need to be played before the Nov. 4 deadline, so quite a bit can change between now and then, but it's certainly not the best time for Carolina to jettison Dowdle. Especially considering that Hubbard didn't look great upon returning from injury last Sunday.