Christian McCaffrey provides shocking injury update

Carolina Panthers star running back Christian McCaffrey played in the first three games of the season — a win against the New York Jets, a win against the New Orleans Saints and a win over the Houston Texans — but in the Texans contest, he suffered a first-half hamstring injury that was slated to keep him out at least a few weeks.

McCaffrey missed one full week until Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule said Monday that McCaffrey would attempt to practice on Wednesday to see how his hamstring ailment felt — the head coach gave absolutely no indication that McCaffrey has a chance of playing Sunday.

McCaffrey, on the other hand, thinks he could.

The Stanford product went so far as to say that he feels great and “definitely” has a chance to play on Sunday, as the 3-1 Panthers host the 1-3 Philadelphia Eagles. McCaffrey was listed as a limited participant in Thursday’s practice, just one day after receiving the same designation in Wednesday’s practice — a session that was simply meant to gauge his progress.

So much for a few-week hiatus.

Panthers didn’t place McCaffrey on injured reserve — for good reason

McCaffrey in the 2020 season missed 13 games due to a plethora of injuries including a high-ankle sprain in the Panthers’ Week 2 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which sidelined him for six games. And in the Panthers-Texans contest, the versatile back suffered another tough injury.

Early in the second quarter of the Thursday night game against the Texans, McCaffrey tried to step around Houston Texans’ linebacker Joe Thomas, and he seemed to injure himself in the process. He entered the Panthers’ medical tent a few minutes later, and he did not return to the game. He finished the quarter-plus long performance with seven carries for 31 rushing yards and two receptions for nine receiving yards.

Through just over two games played, McCaffrey has tallied 201 rushing yards on 52 rushing attempts, along with one rushing touchdown. Additionally, he’s reeled in 16 receptions for 163 receiving yards.

The Panthers opted not to place McCaffrey on the injured reserve, and it seems as though it was for good reason — the original designation was that McCaffrey would miss a few weeks, but he could return after missing just one. While McCaffrey is sidelined, former Oklahoma State running back Chuba Hubbard will take the reins in the Panthers’ backfield.

McCaffrey, 25, was selected eighth overall in the 2017 NFL Draft by the Panthers, after a successful career with the Stanford Cardinal. While at Stanford, McCaffrey was a two-time first team All-Pac-12 honoree, and in 2015 he was the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year, a consensus All-American and the AP College Football Player of the Year. His success translated almost immediately to the NFL.

Now in his fourth season, McCaffrey has been included on one Pro Bowl roster, and he’s twice been named an All-Pro — a first team All-Pro in 2019, and a second team All-Pro in 2018. McCaffrey has spent the past year and change dealing with injuries; however, when healthy, McCaffrey has proven his worth as one of the most lethal running backs in the NFL. He’s effective in the air and on the ground, tallying 3,346 career rushing yards and 30 touchdowns in 54 games played, while also reeling in 336 receptions for 2,835 receiving yards and 16 receiving touchdowns.