Breaking down the Panthers roadmap to Christian McCaffrey’s health
By Noah Bryce
Limiting Christian McCaffrey’s snaps
Gone are the days of Christian McCaffrey playing more than 90 percent of offensive snaps. The Carolina Panthers need to be smart about this to avoid further problems in 2022.
The main thing that the team has to do this season is limit McCaffrey’s touches. Letting other dynamic playmakers on offense pick up the slack isn’t a bad thing in the circumstances.
The Panthers drafted Chuba Hubbard last year and signed D’Onta Foreman in free agency this spring. Simply put, it’s past time the team utilized pieces like this to take some of the weight off the former first-round selection.
While neither player is of the caliber of McCaffrey, both bring a different flavor to the team.
A more bruising style that can take some of those big hits for the star running back, lessening the opportunity for injury. Not to mention the fact that Foreman more than proved his ability to fill in for an injured star last season when Derrick Henry missed a considerable period for the Tennessee Titans.
Another plus of a scheme like this is that it can essentially be copied from the mind of newly acquired quarterback Baker Mayfield. The Cleveland Browns have perfected the two-headed running back attack with Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb, so it could ease the signal-caller’s transition, too.