4 Panthers players who will be key to a potential turnaround
By Dean Jones
Mike Davis – Carolina Panthers RB
It doesn’t appear that Christian McCaffrey will be taking the field anytime soon. The Carolina Panthers have already ruled out their star player for Week 11 and this might be another extended absence during what’s been a campaign of real frustration from the All-Pro’s perspective.
The onus will once again fall on Mike Davis to be Carolina’s primary running back, which is a role he thrived in during the first part of the season. Things haven’t gone according to plan since then after the honeymoon period ended, but if the veteran can make the most out of another chance to shine then it might be mutually beneficial.
Davis is out of contract next spring and is making $3 million this season. Whether the Panthers want to offer someone in a backup role a financial outlay such as this remains to be seen. But he has shown other NFL teams what he is capable of when his name is called, at the very least.
The former South Carolina standout has 675 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns to his name through ten weeks. Carolina might not have ruled out McCaffrey for the rest of the campaign just yet, but there appears little doubt that the player might not get the sort of workload he is normally accustomed to if he does eventually make a return.