Carolina Panthers: Justifying McCaffrey’s historic contract

The Carolina Panthers paid a huge amount to star running back Christian McCaffrey, but what were the reasons behind the commitment?

This week Ian Rapoport reported the Carolina Panthers’ intention to sign Christian McCaffrey to a four-year deal and on Thursday they made it official.

While the news was initially met with its fair share of backlash, it shouldn’t come as a surprise seeing as the young running back just completed a historic season. The team was wise to act now as the player was entering the final season of his rookie deal in 2020.

Christian checks off the young and high potential boxes. He’s a foundational player, so they paid him his worth. He now joins teammates Tre Boston and Shaq Thompson as a contracted Rivera-turned-Rhule stalwart, and he might be the last one before the NFL Draft.

The Panthers are just a few days away from revealing their first-round pick. There’s a lot of speculation ranging from quarterbacks to cornerbacks. But their desperate need for a defensive tackle is arguably their most primary concern with just there on the roster currently.

Nevertheless, the Panthers now have no choice but to knock the draft out of the park by snagging at least four picks that can immediately contribute on defense. Additionally, the offense has to prove that they can carry the team if need be.

After locking up McCaffrey and discussing the defensive draft direction the front office must firmly believe that both things can be accomplished, and for all intents and purposes they might be right.