Christian McCaffrey cleared from Carolina Panthers injury report, will play vs. New Orleans

The biggest question on the injury report of the Carolina Panthers heading into the weekend was the status of running back Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey was listed on the report yesterday for ankle stiffness. He did not practice on Wednesday per his usual and was limited on Thursday. Now, the franchise has good news on their star back.

McCaffrey was removed from the report that they released on Friday. He was a full participant in Friday’s practice and will be a full go this weekend versus the New Orleans Saints.

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McCaffrey has totaled 185 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown so far in 2022. His constant appearance on injury reports, though, leaves the Panthers in a scenario where they need to be cautious. As of this week, they signed Raheem Blackshear off the Buffalo Bill’s practice squad for some insurance had McCaffrey missed their divisional matchup. However, that security won’t be necessary with McCaffrey a full-go.

Amongst Carolina’s injury report has only two questionables listed. Cornerback Donte Jackson is nursing a hamstring and CB Stantley Thomas-Oliver III is dealing with an Achilles injury. Thomas-Oliver III didn’t practice today while Jackson practiced in full. Besides them, Carolina added DE Brian Burns and DT Matt Ioannidis for ankle and groin injuries respectively. Still, neither have game designations as of now.

Having Christian McCaffrey will be massive for the Panthers in the NFC South home game against New Orleans. After an 0-2 start, they could use a victory in the win column, especially a divisional one. Their chances of that look a lot better with McCaffrey healthy in the backfield.

Christian McCaffrey sounds off with strong message after being added to Thursday injury report

Carolina Panthers superstar running back Christian McCaffrey was added to the team’s injury report on Thursday afternoon, due to stiffness in his ankle, according to Darin Gantt. The gifted tailback was clearly not happy about landing on the report and decided to let everyone know about it. He sounded off following the Panthers’ practice on Thursday, telling reporters, “At this point, if I went to take a leak during practice, I’d end up on the injury report.” He is still expected to play on Sunday, according to Gantt.

It’s understandable hearing his frustrations of landing on the injury report, but the reality is the past few seasons he’s struggled to stay on the field. That’s just the inescapable reality of his situation. He enjoyed a healthy run for much of his college and NFL career, but injuries have plagued him the past two years. Out of a possible 27 games played during the 2020 and 2021 seasons, McCaffrey only played in 10 of those.

The star running back for the Carolina Panthers was added to the team’s injury report on Thursday, following his first 100-yard rushing performance since 2019. He was previously absent from the injury report ahead of that game against the New York Giants.

After not practicing at all on Wednesday, which is normal for Christian McCaffrey, he was limited in practice on Thursday. This was described as a precautionary measure.