For the second season in a row, the Carolina Panthers will have to finish their season without All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey. While initial x-rays came back negative on the ankle McCaffrey tweaked in the first half of the Panthers blowout loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, an MRI on Monday morning revealed the need to place him on Injured Reserve. Due to the expected recovery time and McCaffrey’s second placement on IR this season, the Panthers will have to make a playoff push in the final five games of the season without the running back.
McCaffrey will finish the season with 442 rushing yards and a touchdown on 99 carries and 37 catches for 343 yards and a touchdown in seven games. Since signing a four-year, $64 million contract extension that made him the highest paid running back in NFL history in April of 2020, McCaffrey has only played in 10 of the Panthers’ last 28 games.
