5 key ways the Carolina Panthers won during 2022 offseason
By Dean Jones
Carolina Panthers helped Christian McCaffrey
Something had to give with Christian McCaffrey this offseason. The Buffalo Bills reportedly came calling with a view to a possible trade, but the Carolina Panthers weren’t interested in dealing their best offensive weapon despite his lack of activity over the last two seasons.
Having McCaffrey for 10 games in two campaigns is one of the primary reasons why Carolina’s struggled of late. The former Stanford standout is an indispensable member of the roster and it didn’t take long for things to start trending downward once he went out of the lineup in Week 3 at the Houston Texans.
Taking some pressure off McCaffrey and helping him as much as possible is the only way to move forward. It will also take some compromise from the player in pursuit of avoiding further problems this time around.
Thankfully, the Panthers got some assistance for McCaffrey this offseason. We’ve spoken about the improved offensive line, but the acquisition of D’Onta Foreman from the Tennessee Titans in free agency could be a fantastic bit of business.
Foreman is a powerful back that filled in for Derrick Henry superbly last season. If he can find a prominent role for himself in Carolina, then McCaffrey is going to reap the rewards.
McCaffrey’s importance remains undisputed. But the Panthers must find better ways to keep him fresh and Foreman could be the missing piece of the puzzle.