When he’s healthy, Carolina Panthers star Christian McCaffrey is among the best running backs in the league. The key words here are “when he’s healthy”. For CMC, that just hasn’t been often enough.
After playing in all 78 games in his first three seasons, the No. 8 overall pick in 2017 has made just 10 appearances since the start of 2020. This means he’s missed 23 games, while the Panthers have greatly struggled without their franchise player on the field.
However, CMC is one of the highest-paid at his position. This restricts the Panthers from investing in their team elsewhere. Which, again, if he was healthy we likely wouldn’t even be hearing any Christian McCaffrey trade rumors.
In the past, the team has been hesitant to hear out any potential offers for their All-Pro tailback, but that could be changing according to Joseph Person of The Athletic. He reports the Panthers would be willing to “listen to offers” for McCaffrey this offseason.
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Person also throws out the qualifier that teams may not be interested in parting with a ton of trade assets for a player who hasn’t been able to stay on the field. Not to mention, the $44 million left on his contract.
Although, the prospect of landing a potential Pro Bowl all-purpose back who’s locked up through 2025 may intrigue a few teams. After all, it only takes one team with great interest to make a deal.
Since McCaffrey had a career-high 404 touches in 2019, he’s experienced injuries to his ankle as well as various soft tissue setbacks. Some question whether he will ever regain his top form.
Meanwhile, the Panthers have employed Chuba Hubbard as their starting running back since McCaffrey has gotten hurt, and he hasn’t experienced even close to the same success, averaging 3.5 yards per carry. We’ll see whether the Panthers get serious about listening to a CMC trade, or if teams even have much interest at this point over the offseason.