Carolina Panthers release timetable for Christian McCaffrey return

The Carolina Panthers now know how long they will have to wait until Pro Bowl running back Christian McCaffrey is back on the field for them. Panthers head coach Matt Rhule delivered an update on McCaffrey and how long he could be out.

McCaffrey went down with a hamstring injury in the first quarter of Thursday night’s game. After having the hamstring further evaluated it was revealed that it is indeed a strain of the muscle. Unfortunately for the Panthers, the severity of this injury can vary.

And as a result, so can the recovery time. Rhule said he does not know how long it will take McCaffrey to recover. He was quoted saying he’s uncertain whether McCaffrey’s absence will be “one, two, three or four weeks.”

In Thursday night’s game against the Houston Texans, McCaffrey left the game in the second quarter after just seven carries for 31 yards and two receptions for nine yards. Following a stutter step to evade a defenseman, McCaffrey went to the medical tent for evaluation where he remained for over 20 minutes.

McCaffrey has continued his all-purpose yards dominance this season. He is second in the NFL in rushing yards with 201 and tied for first with 52 rushing attempts. He is second in receptions with 17 and yards with 163 among his Panthers teammates. Only D.J Moore is ahead of him in both categories. Heading into Thursday night, McCaffrey had 324 yards from scrimmage, which led the NFL.

Panthers looking for help

To help out in the meantime, the Carolina Panthers are looking to add some help in the backfield. Most notably they worked out Duke Johnson this week. If the Panthers ultimately decide to sign Johnson, he could quickly find a role on the offense with McCaffrey out. Johnson has shown throughout his collegiate and NFL careers that he is one of the league’s most versatile running backs. Johnson spent the last two seasons with the Houston Texans. In his two years there, Johnson had 160 rushing attempts for 645 yards and three touchdowns. He also caught 72 passes for 659 yards and four touchdowns in Houston.

As of right now, the Carolina Panthers are in first place in their division. They have enjoyed solid play from both their offense and their defense. But without McCaffrey, their offense could sputter. The Panthers will need him back as soon as possible if they are to dethrone last year’s division champs the New Orleans Saints or compete with last year’s Super Bowl champions Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

On3″s Ashton Pollard and Jonathan Wagner contributed to this story