4 ways the Carolina Panthers could acquire more draft capital in 2022
By Luke Gray
Carolina Panthers could trade Christian McCaffrey
Now with Christian McCaffrey’s contract restructure this makes a trade highly unlikely. However, let’s play devil’s advocate and say the Carolina Panthers do move the former All-Pro running back, what could they realistically expect in return?
Despite injuries hindering the former Stanford man in the past two seasons, when healthy the player is top-five and maybe even top-three at his position. Who can forget just three seasons ago McCaffrey became just the third man in NFL history to go over 1,000 yards receiving and rushing in a season.
Scott Fitterer was honest when asked about the possibility of trading the player at the end of the past season, saying that while they intended to keep the former first-round pick, he would listen to offers for anyone on the roster.
It was reported by Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports that the Panthers were looking for a Day 1 pick plus other pieces of compensation. But with his injury record that’s seen McCaffrey take the field on just 10 occasions over the last two years, teams may be reluctant to part ways with such a high-end selection.
It was then later reported that the Buffalo Bills held an interest in trading for McCaffrey. Maybe put off by the hefty price tag of trading for the player, they turned their attention to J.D McKissic.
McCaffrey when healthy is a dynamic playmaker that can make a real difference. We saw the difference he made to Sam Darnold as he was his safety option in the Panthers’ 3-0 start.
When McCaffrey went down hurt the play of Darnold capitulated. The player featured in just seven games a season ago and Carolina went 1-9 without him.
This is a non-starter, in all honesty. McCaffrey remains an indispensable member of the roster in 2022 and there would also be some grave financial implications to also consider.