The Panthers will be playing their third straight game today without their best player. Star running back Christian McCaffrey is currently on the injured reserve list after suffering a high ankle sprain in the team’s Week 2 loss to the Buccaneers. While McCaffrey is eligible to return to the active roster next week, it sounds like he’ll be out a while longer than that.
Speaking in an interview on Sirius XM NFL Radio, Carolina head coach Matt Rhule said McCaffrey is probably still a “couple of weeks away” from returning.
"Christian is probably a couple of weeks away."@Panthers HC Matt Rhule provides an update on Christian McCaffrey and discusses the RB room in Carolina.
👇AUDIO👇| #Panthers | #KeepPounding pic.twitter.com/0D8062mEe9
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) October 11, 2020
While it’s never ideal to go for an extended period of time without your top playmaker, the Panthers have been fortunate to get a couple of standout performances from backup Mike Davis. He has has proven to be elusive as a rusher and reliable as a receiver, totaling 14 broken tackles and catching 21 of his 23 targets so far.
Depth may yet become an issue at this spot, though. Reggie Bonnafon has played well too in McCaffrey’s absence but he’s now on the practice squad injured reserve list after a high ankle sprain of his own.
For today’s game against the Falcons, Davis and Trenton Cannon are the only running backs in uniform.
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