Panthers head coach Matt Rhule said Freeman will serve as the top backup to starting running back Chuba Hubbard in Sunday's game in Dallas, David Newton of ESPN.com reports.
With Christian McCaffrey (hamstring) expected to miss several weeks, Hubbard and Freeman will both temporarily bump up a spot on the depth chart. Following McCaffrey's early exit in the Panthers' Week 3 win over the Texans, Hubbard finished the night with a 39-10 edge over Freeman in terms of snaps, with the latter carrying five times for 17 yards and catching one ball for eight yards. Though Hubbard may not to take on the 90-plus-percent snap shares that a healthy McCaffrey has typically handled in competitive contests, the rookie has demonstrated the sort of three-down skill set that could make him the clear No. 1 back over Freeman rather than Option 1A in a timeshare. If that's the case, Freeman may struggle to see enough volume to have fantasy relevance even while McCaffrey is sidelined.