As he himself put it on Monday, Christian McCaffrey is facing a challenge—about a month and half’s worth of recovery from a high-ankle sprain. That challenge, one he’s looking to undercut in a quick return to the field, will now be spotted at least three games of his season.
On Wednesday, the Carolina Panthers officially announced that they have placed McCaffrey on the reserve/injured list. His designated stint there, which is more temporary than in years past due to the league’s COVID-19 protocol, will be up in three weeks.
The All-Pro back can, if determined healthy enough, make his comeback as soon as the team’s Week 6 matchup with the Chicago Bears on Oct. 18. For now, in a corresponding move, the Panthers have elected to move offensive lineman Chris Reed to the active roster in McCaffrey’s place.
With their superstar out, Carolina currently has only two running backs at their disposal—Mike Davis, the starter for the foreseeable future, and third-year veteran Trenton Cannon, whose last carry came with in Week 16 of the 2018 campaign as a member of the New York Jets.
A wild-card, perhaps, to replace McCaffrey’s heavy workload could come in the form of wideout Curtis Samuel. Back in July, head coach Matt Rhule highlighted Samuel’s versatility, stating the team could utilize the speedster as a “running back, a slot receiver or an outside receiver.” Samuel was primarily used out of the backfield during his time at the Ohio State University, averaging 7.5 yards per carry and scoring 15 touchdowns on 172 attempts from 2014 to 2016.
Until we see otherwise, however, it’s Davis’s number that’ll be called most often beginning this Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers.
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