3 reasons Carolina Panthers should not trade Christian McCaffrey

Christian McCaffrey’s veteran leadership

While trading for Deshaun Watson consists of bringing in another veteran, the Carolina Panthers would still be losing one of the biggest veteran leaders on their team.

Christian McCaffrey is heading into his fifth season with the team, and he already has the honor of wearing the captain’s patch to further reflect just what an influential player he’s become in such a short space of time.

Even though he was kept out most of the 2020 season, McCaffrey did not let that prevent the former first-round pick from being a good leader. Even after getting hurt, he told the media that it would not stop him from interacting with the team – something which really benefitted a young group that made some encouraging strides throughout the campaign.

McCaffrey was often seen on the sidelines of games motivating his teammates and encouraging players like Mike Davis. Another example of his leadership was when Robby Anderson and Russel Okung told the media that the Stanford product was the first player to reach out to them once they joined the team last year.

This is the type of leader the Panthers need to keep on their roster.

McCaffrey also told the media that he wanted to stay a Panther for his entire career, and giving up someone who means too much to the locker room and the fanbase would be a significant gamble no matter how good Watson is.