Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey (quad) missed practice again on Thursday. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport hears, though, that "there is still optimism that he plays" vs. the Cardinals this weekend. "He’s kept it close to the vest, but barring a setback he should be OK," Rapoport adds. We'll get another update on CMC tomorrow.
ESPN Panthers reporter David Newton tweeted that Panthers HC Matt Rhule "sounded like it was no big deal" when he discussed RB Christian McCaffrey's thigh injury Wednesday. "We'll see where he is tomorrow," the coach added. There have been plenty of times that McCaffrey has missed Wednesday's practice only to be ready for full use by game time. If he were to miss any games, we're not sure either Chuba Hubbard or D'Onta Foreman would claim a large enough share of the work to be "the guy" for fantasy football lineups.
Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey missed Wednesday's practice with a thigh injury. Per insider Joe Person, HC Matt Rhule "wouldn't speculate" on McCaffrey's availability for this weekend's game vs. the Cardinals. We'll see if McCaffrey is able to get on the practice field tomorrow.
Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey rushed 25 times for 108 yards in Sunday's win over the Saints. He added 7 yards on 2 catches among 4 targets. It was a light passing day for Carolina, with QB Baker Mayfield attempting 25 passes and completing just 12. Only D.J. Moore exceeded 4 targets (he had 6), and no Panther caught more than 2 passes. WR Lavish Shenault scored on a pass from 67 yards out for the team's only offensive TD.
Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey (ankle) is not listed on the final Week 3 injury report. He was limited early in the week with what was reported as ankle stiffness, but McCaffrey put in a full practice on Friday. He should be ready for his usual workhorse role vs. the Saints on Sunday.
Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey was added to Thursday's injury report and limited in practice with an ankle. According to Darin Gantt of the team's official website, McCaffrey "had some stiffness" in the ankle but is still expected to play vs. the Saints on Sunday. We'll look for further updates on McCaffrey's status and will get another practice report tomorrow.
Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey posted 128 scoreless yards in a Week 2 loss to the Giants. As usual, CMC rarely left the field, ultimately seeing a 91% snap share ahead of D’Onta Foreman (5%) and Chuba Hubbard (3%). The backups combined for only 2 touches. Our biggest concerns going forward are a hot-and-cold Baker Mayfield and a Matt Rhule-led Panthers squad that ranks 28th in total offense. High touch volume still keeps CMC in the top-3 discussion.
Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey ran for 33 yards and a score on 10 carries in Sunday's loss to the Browns, adding 4-24 receiving on 4 targets. A largely sluggish offensive day for Carolina hurt, and QB Baker Mayfield claimed a rushing TD from 7 yards out in the 4th quarter. D'Onta Foreman and Chubb Hubbard combined for just 3 carries and 0 targets behind him.
Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey (shin) is not listed on the final Week 1 injury report. He was added on Thursday after reportedly getting cleated in the shin but put in a full practice on Friday. CMC will be ready for a workhorse role vs. the Browns on Sunday.
The Panthers added RB Christian McCaffrey to the injury report Thursday, but HC Matt Rhule said after practice that he's "fine." McCaffrey reportedly got a cut on 1 of his shins from a teammate's cleat. There doesn't appear to be any concern here.
The Panthers officially named QB Baker Mayfield their starter. This was expected since Carolina swung a trade for Mayfield in early July. He started the preseason opener over QB Sam Darnold, going 4-of-7 for 45 yards on 1 series. Mayfield is just a lower-end QB2 for fantasy squads, but we expect him to be an upgrade over Darnold for RB Christian McCaffrey, WR D.J. Moore and the rest of the Panthers offense.
Panthers HC Matt Rhule has no plans to lighten RB Christian McCaffrey's workload. “Christian’s a dominant football player," Rhule said. "He plays a high-contact, high-percent-of-injury position. We’re going to put him out there and play him. think we’re all thinking about Christian one way only, and that’s attack.” McCaffrey, by the way, has had a healthy camp so far after missing significant time in both of the last 2 seasons. He's the odds-on favorite to lead RBs in fantasy points per game.
The Browns are trading QB Baker Mayfield to the Panthers for a conditional 5th-round pick in 2024, NFL Network reports. The 2 teams "split the financials to make it happen," according to Ian Rapoport, so Carolina is presumably picking up about half of Mayfield's nearly $19 million 2022 cap hit. Mayfield is coming off a disappointing, injury-riddled 2021 season but played well the previous year, finishing 10th among 32 qualifiers in Pro Football Focus' passing grades. In fact, Mayfield earned higher PFF passing grades in each of his first 3 NFL seasons than QB Sam Darnold has managed in any of his 4 NFL seasons. So Mayfield is a tangible upgrade for D.J. Moore, Robby Anderson, Terrace Marshall and Christian McCaffrey. Mayfield himself looks like just a middling QB2, although those weapons give him some weekly upside. Check out the updated projections for the Panthers offense.
Update: Per NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, Mayfield agreed to shave about $3.5 million off his 2022 salary. The Browns will pay him $10.5 million this year; the Panthers around $5 million.
The Athletic's Joe Person doesn't expect the Panthers to scale back RB Christian McCaffrey's volume this season, despite the injuries he's dealt with the last 2 years. Instead, "The Panthers plan to change their practice approach with McCaffrey, taking a lot of the reps off him during the week in the hope that the lightened workload will help him get through the season." Sign us up for that! McCaffrey didn't miss a single game across his first 3 NFL seasons and turned just 26 earlier this month. He's the odds-on favorite to lead RBs in fantasy points per game this year.
CBS' Jonathan Jones reports that the Browns and Panthers are involved in trade talks "surrounding" QB Baker Mayfield. Jones reports that there's "urgency" for Carolina to make a move early enough to get Mayfield some minicamp reps with the team. He adds that the Panthers' offer is the best Cleveland has gotten and that the primary sticking point is how much of Mayfield's 2022 salary the Browns would pay. The QB is in the 5th and final year of his rookie contract and will likely face a "prove it" year, with unrestricted free agency ahead in March 2023. He makes obvious sense for Carolina, which currently sports Sam Darnold and Matt Corral as the top 2 options. And the relationship between Mayfield and the Browns looks finished. Mayfield hasn't proved to be a high-upside fantasy QB through 4 seasons, but the Panthers would set him up with nice pass-catching talent -- led by D.J. Moore and Christian McCaffrey. Stacking him with 1 or both players in best-ball tournament lineups now would be a low-risk, high-upside move.
Per beat writer Joseph Person, the Carolina coaching staff has “kicked around the idea” of giving Christian McCaffrey more slot snaps. During his injury-riddled 2021, McCaffrey played only 12 snaps out of the slot (4.6%). So there’s room for a bit more work inside. Regardless of where he lines up, however, the former All-Pro will remain busy as a pass-catcher. Current projections peg McCaffrey for over 100 targets.
The Panthers named Ben McAdoo their new OC. McAdoo flamed out after just 2 seasons as the Giants' HC. But that proceeded 2 mostly successful seasons as OC. New York finished top 13 in points, total yards and passing yards in both of those years. McAdoo was a balanced play caller, with the G-Men ranking 17th and 16th in situation-neutral pass rate in 2014 and 2015, respectively. He takes over a Panthers offense that has enough talent at the skill positions but needs to find a QB.
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