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The Carolina Panthers reportedly aren’t expected to keep star running back Christian McCaffrey beyond the Nov. 1 NFL trade deadline.
Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post reported Wednesday that Carolina trading McCaffrey before the deadline is a “near certainty.”
La Canfora noted that between McCaffrey’s injury history and the struggles of the 1-5 Panthers, it might behoove them to move their greatest asset as soon as possible.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter was among the first to report last week that the Panthers were officially listening to offers for McCaffrey, although he made it clear that it won’t be cheap for interested teams to acquire him.
Schefter noted that the Panthers turned down at least two offers and are asking for “significant” compensation in the form of a first-round pick or multiple draft picks.
The 2022 season has been a miserable one for the Panthers amid the firing of head coach Matt Rhule and struggles from quarterback Baker Mayfield, but McCaffrey has been perhaps the lone bright spot.
After appearing in just 10 games combined during the 2020 and 2021 seasons because of injury, the 26-year-old McCaffrey is seemingly back in form and putting up numbers that rival the best running backs in the game.
Through six games, McCaffrey has rushed 85 times for 393 yards and two touchdowns, plus he has caught 33 passes for 277 yards and a score.
While not quite as dominant, McCaffrey’s play has been somewhat reminiscent of his special 2019 season, which saw him finish with over 1,000 rushing and receiving yards. He also led the NFL with 403 touches, 2,392 yards from scrimmage and 19 touchdowns.
In a better offense, it isn’t outside the realm of possibility that McCaffrey could get even closer to the player he was that season.
McCaffrey is under contract through 2025 and will make about $12 million in each of the 2023, 2024 and 2025 seasons, which would normally be a nonstarter when it comes to trading for an injury-prone running back.
He has a cap hit of only $1.035 million this season, however, meaning any team that wants him could easily fit him under the cap this season and worry about future ramifications later.
The Panthers have already traded wide receiver Robbie Anderson to the Arizona Cardinals and seem poised to enter what could be a lengthy rebuild. If they truly want to accelerate that rebuild, trading McCaffrey for draft picks would likely help.
Carolina clearly isn’t going anywhere this season and may not be playoff contenders for at least a few years to come, meaning there isn’t a ton of incentive to keep McCaffrey around.
Trading a former No. 8 overall draft pick and the face of the franchise may not be a popular move among fans, but it is likely best for the future of the Panthers at this point.
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