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Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey entered Sunday questionable with a thigh injury he had to test pregame. But he wound up with normal playing time and 17 of the 18 RB opportunities for Carolina in the loss to the Cardinals. McCaffrey managed only 27 yards on 8 rushes but caught all 9 of his targets for 81 yards and a TD. D'Onta Foreman got the only other RB touch: a 2-yard run. He played 4 snaps to Chuba Hubbard's 3.
ESPN Panthers reporter David Newton tweeted that Panthers HC Matt Rhule "sounded like it was no big deal" when he discussed RB Christian McCaffrey's thigh injury Wednesday. "We'll see where he is tomorrow," the coach added. There have been plenty of times that McCaffrey has missed Wednesday's practice only to be ready for full use by game time. If he were to miss any games, we're not sure either Chuba Hubbard or D'Onta Foreman would claim a large enough share of the work to be "the guy" for fantasy football lineups.
Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey posted 128 scoreless yards in a Week 2 loss to the Giants. As usual, CMC rarely left the field, ultimately seeing a 91% snap share ahead of D’Onta Foreman (5%) and Chuba Hubbard (3%). The backups combined for only 2 touches. Our biggest concerns going forward are a hot-and-cold Baker Mayfield and a Matt Rhule-led Panthers squad that ranks 28th in total offense. High touch volume still keeps CMC in the top-3 discussion.
Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey ran for 33 yards and a score on 10 carries in Sunday's loss to the Browns, adding 4-24 receiving on 4 targets. A largely sluggish offensive day for Carolina hurt, and QB Baker Mayfield claimed a rushing TD from 7 yards out in the 4th quarter. D'Onta Foreman and Chubb Hubbard combined for just 3 carries and 0 targets behind him.
ESPN Panthers reporter David Newton seems to think RB D'Onta Foreman will be the #2 RB for Carolina this season. In a piece with team-by-team fantasy-related questions for beat writers, Newton writes: "If [Christian McCaffrey] can play 14-17 games, he should again be one of the most productive backs in the league. Just in case, though, put D'Onta Foreman on your roster for insurance." We still wouldn't bet on either Foreman or Chuba Hubbard as a direct replacement should McCaffrey go down. But this could point to Foreman at least taking the rushing lead in that scenario.
Panthers HC Matt Rhule said RB Chuba Hubbard has “really improved” his pass protection. It’s only relevant if Christian McCaffrey misses more time, but it’s a nice development for the 23-year-old after a lackluster rookie season. Currently, Hubbard is battling free-agent addition D’Onta Foreman for scraps behind CMC.
The Panthers have placed Christian McCaffrey on IR for the 2nd time this season, following his left-ankle injury in Sunday's loss to the Dolphins. That automatically knocks him out for the rest of the year, since it's his 2nd IR stint. It's a surprising development after NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported earlier Monday that the injury "doesn't seem major." We'll see about the specifics of the injury, but that won't really matter until we're evaluating McCaffrey for 2022 fantasy football drafts. For now, it's Chuba Hubbard back to the lead at the position in Carolina. He averaged 17.8 carries, 65.8 yards and 0.4 TDs per game rushing in 5 fill-in starts earlier this season, with another 2.6 receptions and 17.6 receiving yards per contest. The Panthers have since added RB Ameer Abdullah, who figures to steal some passing-down snaps from Hubbard the rest of the way. Abdullah has seen 4+ targets in 4 of the past 5 games, averaging 2.6 catches and 22.4 receiving yards per game over those 5 contests.
The Panthers have activated RB Christian McCaffrey (hamstring) from IR. Both Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network report that the team "hopes" McCaffrey will play Sunday against the Patriots. Make sure to check his game status Sunday morning if you're planning to play McCaffrey in your fantasy football lineup.
Panthers HC Matt Rhule expects to get RB Christian McCaffrey (hamstring) back on the practice field on Wednesday. "Hopefully we can get Christian back soon. If it's not this week, hopefully it will be next week," Rhule said. We'll keep a close eye on McCaffrey's practice participation level this week. Don't go dropping RB Chuba Hubbard just yet, though.
The Panthers have placed RB Christian McCaffrey on IR. He had already been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Vikings. This move means he'll miss at least 2 more beyond that with the hamstring injury that knocked him out of the Week 3 win at Houston. Rookie Chuba Hubbard should be the lead back this week against Minnesota and for upside matchups at the Giants and Falcons the next 2 weeks. We'll see whether McCaffrey is ready to return for the Week 9 game against New England.
Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey (hamstring) is out for this weekend's game vs. the Vikings. It looks like he suffered a setback this week after missing practice on Thursday and Friday, but we'll look for further updates on his status. RB Chuba Hubbard gets another start on Sunday. He tallied 13 carries and 2 targets in negative game script in Week 4 and 24 carries and 6 targets with more positive script last week.
Update: HC Matt Rhule claimed Friday that McCaffrey didn't suffer a setback and added that he's "hopeful" McCaffrey will be back for Week 7. We'll see.
Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey (hamstring) did not practice on Thursday. It's a downgrade after he put in 3 limited practices last week. Hopefully he didn't suffer a setback. We'll get another update on McCaffrey tomorrow, but at this point it seems more likely than not that he misses Sunday's game vs. the Vikings.
Panthers HC Matt Rhule said Wednesday that RB Christian McCaffrey (hamstring) is “probably 50-50” to play Sunday vs. Minnesota. CMC was limited in practice today. If he returns, it’ll end up being just a 2-game absence for the 25-year-old. Last week in his place, rookie Chuba Hubbard rushed 24 times for 101 yards, adding 5 catches on 6 targets. He’ll remain a plug-in RB2 if McCaffrey sits.
Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey (hamstring) is inactive for today’s vs. the Eagles. He put in 3 limited practices this week and seemingly has a good shot to return for Week 6. Chuba Hubbard gets another game as Carolina’s lead back but ceded pass-catching work to RB Rodney Smith last week.
The Panthers list RB Christian McCaffrey (hamstring) as doubtful for Sunday's game vs. the Eagles. McCaffrey practiced all week and is clearly making good progress in his rehab. But Carolina is wisely playing it safe with the stud back. Chuba Hubbard will again operate as the Panthers' lead back this weekend, but he lost passing-down work to RB Rodney Smith last week. The role leaves Hubbard as a lower-end RB2.
Panthers HC Matt Rhule said Monday that he expects RB Christian McCaffrey to return to practice Wednesday, according to Jonathan Alexander of the Charlotte Observer. That doesn't necessarily mean McCaffrey is on track to return for Week 5, but it would obviously be a big step in the right direction. We'll certainly be watching the Carolina star closely all week.
Panthers HC Matt Rhule said the team is "optimistic" RB Christian McCaffrey (hamstring) will miss 3 games, according to insider Joe Person. McCaffrey hasn't been placed on IR, so Carolina must think there's at least a chance he's back before Week 7. But it sounds like our expectation should be that he misses the next 3 games vs. the Cowboys, Eagles and Vikings. We'll get our 1st look at the McCaffrey-less backfield on Sunday. We're projecting RB Chuba Hubbard to produce RB2 numbers with RB1 upside.
Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey is scheduled for testing on his injured hamstring on Friday, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. So we should get an idea of how long CMC will be out later today. Per Rapoport, McCaffrey was quickly ruled out of last night's game because he "could not push off at all on that hamstring." McCaffrey owners should be bracing for a multi-game absence, but we'll pass along more info as soon as we have it. After McCaffrey exited the Texans game, RB Chuba Hubbard out-snapped RB Royce Freeman 38 to 11. Hubbard is the priority add on waiver wires, but Freeman is worth a stash in most leagues, too.
Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey suffered a hamstring injury in the 2nd quarter of Thursday night's game vs. the Texans and was quickly ruled out. That suggests a relatively serious injury. We'll update McCaffrey's status as soon as we learn more. RB Chuba Hubbard looks like the next man up for Carolina. RB Royce Freeman is also on the roster.
The Panthers have claimed RB Royce Freeman off waivers from the Broncos. He joins a thin depth chart behind Christian McCaffrey. Freeman's not likely to find fantasy relevance in Carolina, but he could challenge rookie Chuba Hubbard for touches behind McCaffrey.
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