Carolina Panthers camp: 5 things we learned from Week 1

Christian McCaffrey excited by a new offense

Christian McCaffrey is no stranger to change with the Carolina Panthers. The running back shared the backfield with three different quarterbacks in 2019. But the excitement regarding next season was clearly evident when the All-Pro spoke with media during the first week of training camp.

McCaffrey is coming off an exceptional campaign where he became the third player in NFL history to go over 1,000-yards rushing and receiving in the same season. And although he might not get more than 400 combined touches again. There is real hope that the new face of the franchise can become more influential in Joe Brady’s offensive scheme.

The player has been impressed by what he has seen from Bridgewater so far. McCaffrey highlighted the beneficial and open discussions with his signal-caller during their first few days together. And this will stand them in good stead going forward.

"“I think the biggest thing is once you have the offense down, start going out there making sure your steps are right, making sure your eyes are right, making sure we’re communicating. (Bridgewater) knows exactly what he wants in every route. He knows exactly what he wants to do in his run-game footwork. So hearing from him and talking through some different things, making sure we’re on the same page, is helpful because he does know what he wants. We can obviously take what he’s run in the past and personalize it a little bit. He’s a guy that’s open to suggestions, too, which is awesome. So it’s just been fun getting to learn and getting to nail down the details that are going to end up really mattering.”"

McCaffrey signed a four-year, $64 million deal with a $21 million signing bonus, and $38 million guaranteed this offseason. The Panthers’ bucked the league trend of unwillingness to pay running backs at the peak of their powers. But the onus will be on the player to continue his remarkable first three years in a professional environment.