7 RBs the Carolina Panthers should consider in 2022 free agency

Carolina Panthers should consider Marlon Mack

Let’s consider this scenario: the Carolina Panthers bring back Ameer Abdullah before the start of free agency to keep the trio of Christian McCaffrey and Chuba Hubbard.

Even so, Scott Fitterer and Matt Rhule would like to have some competition in the backfield behind McCaffrey. This brings up the idea of signing former Indianapolis Colts running back Marlon Mack for that reason.

The fifth-year veteran out of USF was once slated for a big payday before tearing his Achilles in Week 1 of 2020 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The history for running backs coming off such an injury is not promising, with Arian Foster being a prime example in recent years.

Before suffering the devastating injury, however, Mack had grown into a playmaking, downhill runner for Indianapolis. In 2019 Mack rushed for nearly 1,100 yards and eight touchdowns, displaying great vision, patience, and the ability to create yards before and after contact.

Mack finished his tenure with the Colts at the bottom of the depth chart and only played in six games with the emergence of Jonathan Taylor, the league’s leading rusher in 2021. This means he won’t have the payday he almost had nearly two seasons ago.

Despite all of this, Mack will most likely go for cheap and could compete for the RB2 spot behind McCaffrey. And if the player can return to his pre-Achilles form, he could be one of the steals of the offseason.