5 Panthers players who could be sacrificed for a franchise QB in 2022
By Dean Jones
Christian McCaffrey – Carolina Panthers RB
When Christian McCaffrey is fit and firing on all cylinders, there is no denying his credentials. The Carolina Panthers running back is among the best dual-threat weapons anywhere in the league and even though he’s featured just 10 times over the last two years, there might be a team or two potentially interested in acquiring his services.
It’s easy to forget just how good McCaffrey is. A player that became only the third back in NFL history to go over 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season during a phenomenal 2019 campaign.
Giving McCaffrey a lucrative contract after this fine accomplishment hasn’t exactly gone according to plan over the last two seasons. It also makes trading away the Stanford product difficult from a financial standpoint.
According to Over the Cap’s valuations, there is no feasible way this can be achieved without absorbing some extortionate dead-cap figure pre-June 1. However, shifting McCaffrey after this date comes with a saving of $8.6 million, which becomes more realistic even if it is a little late in the day.
Even if Carolina manages to work things out from a money standpoint, convincing another NFL team to take on McCaffrey for a veteran quarterback with proven production is a tough sell. However, the Panthers don’t have many elite assets right now and although general manager Scott Fitterer stated he plans on keeping the player, that might change in this scenario.