Carolina Panthers limiting Christian McCaffrey a bad idea

The Carolina Panthers are advertising a reduction in plays for running back Christian McCaffrey.

Former first-round pick Christian McCaffrey revitalized the Carolina Panthers backfield with his dynamic play making and pass catching abilities. Coupled with quarterback Cam Newton, the two create multiple mismatch opportunities for opposing defenses on game day.

To this point, the results have been impressive and with Newton battling a shoulder injury that limited his ability to throw the football last season, McCaffrey benefited. Increasing his carries by over 100 from his rookie year, the Panthers ball carrier tallied 1,098 yards on 219 carries during his sophomore campaign.

Entering year three, McCaffrey continues to prepare for every opportunity and according to Brendan Marks at The Charlotte Observer, repeatedly reminds coach Ron Rivera, “if we play 1,000 plays, I want to play 1,000 plays.” However, Rivera and the Panthers appear ready to decrease his on field appearances while attempting to not limit his touches.

While not using McCaffrey may allow for him to be more fresh in certain situations, he’s already proved capable of withstanding the workload and Carolina would be giving up on a major advantage. McCaffrey is the type of player who can impact a play even without touching the football and, according to Rivera, this is what they are exploring taking away.

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Obviously the Panthers aren’t going to simply rely on McCaffrey each time he’s on the field but when he breaks the huddle, opponents have to identify where he lines up. Across the league there are few players that garner this type of attention and taking plays off would seemingly give the opposition an advantage.

Without McCaffrey, Carolina would be required to utilize veteran running back Cameron Artis-Payne, rookie Jordan Scarlett or another one of their backfield options. They could also potentially line up with an additional wide receiver or multiple tight ends but offensive coordinator Norv Turner typically operates with a back of some sort.

This could also simply be lip service as no official games are scheduled until September. It’s one thing to discuss but when the games actually count and it comes down to McCaffrey at a little less than 100-percent or a backup…

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You can bet McCaffrey is going to be on the field.

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