Panthers cannot deviate from current plan when Christian McCaffrey returns

The Carolina Panthers cannot deviate from their current plan when running back Christian McCaffrey makes his return from injury. 

It appears as if Christian McCaffrey will begin his road to returning this week. Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule is hopeful that the All-Pro running back can start practicing as soon as Wednesday following a hamstring problem that’s kept him out since Week 4 at the Houston Texans.

While this is good news, it would be foolish of the Panthers to push McCaffrey too hard. Although the player also needs to take his fair share of the blame for his aggressive approach to rehabilitation that saw him eventually go on the reserve/injured list.

Carolina is better when McCaffrey is on the field. That isn’t up for debate despite many now questioning the decision to give the former first-round pick a four-year, $64 million deal with a $21 million signing bonus and $38 million guaranteed.

However, the running back by committee approach implemented so successfully at the Atlanta Falcons is a plan the team shouldn’t deviate from moving forward.

The trio of Royce Freeman, Chuba Hubbard, and Ameer Abdullah carried the load in McCaffrey’s absence once again. Carolina also got 66 rushing yards from quarterback Sam Darnold before he was forced out with a concussion.

This run-first approach desired by Matt Rhule resulted in 203 rushing yards from a mammoth 47 attempts. A statistic that dictates this should be the team’s ethos in Week 9 against the New England Patriots and possibly beyond.

Christian McCaffrey should not handle the same workload when he returns.

Hopefully, there will be no more complications on the health front where McCaffrey is concerned.

But recent history suggests that cannot be guaranteed any longer.

As stated previously, the Panthers should proceed with extreme caution with McCaffrey. Although the player will be pushing for meaningful touches at the earliest possible opportunity.

Even if that’s the case and he comes through practice this week unscathed, it might be worth Carolina waiting another week before turning McCaffrey out versus the Arizona Cardinals in Week 10.

And giving him 30 combined touches every single game just isn’t going to fly anymore.

Hubbard and Abdullah have definitely flashed. So adopting a multi-back mentality and focusing more on McCaffrey’s involvement in the passing game might be the smart way to go over the second half of the season.

It’s a fine line, obviously. Especially considering how McCaffrey can influence a contest with the ball in his hands and the way he completely changes how opposing defenses scheme things up.

Carolina’s defense is already ready for playoff football. The same cannot be said offensively after some real regression without their face of the franchise.

The blueprint on how to accumulate yards despite McCaffrey missing games was set at the Falcons. Keeping the same mindset when the Stanford product returns is of paramount importance.

After all, the Panthers aren’t ready to become a contender just yet.

If some shrewd moves are made this offseason, then having McCaffrey fresh and firing on all cylinders in 2022 could arguably be more important than anything he gives the team during the current campaign.

Trading him just isn’t a realistic option given his contract. So maximizing McCaffrey’s production by making others shoulder the load is the only avenue to pursue at this juncture.