How can the Carolina Panthers keep running back Christian McCaffrey on the field for a full campaign in 2022?
Christian McCaffrey is the best dual-threat running back in the NFL when healthy. There is no arguing that point.
However, that has been less than the case of late for the All-Pro.
Only three years removed from a record-setting season that will go down in history books, there are questions surrounding the future of McCaffrey and whether or not the star player even has a future with the Carolina Panthers beyond the current campaign.
The combination of toughness, balance, exceptional hands and football IQ is once-in-a-generation as far as McCaffrey is concerned. The only piece of the pie that seems to be missing is durability.
This is something the Panthers are painfully familiar with after the shocking retirement of Luke Kuechly following the 2019 season to preserve the legendary linebacker’s long-term health.
While injuries, at their core, are unpredictable, certain things can be done to lessen the risk. Things that Carolina absolutely has to put into place if they want any chance of McCaffrey lasting the full year.
When looking at the types of injuries that McCaffrey has sustained to date, it shows a concerning trend of soft tissue pulls and sprains that have all occurred in the same leg. The thing about these complications is that they tend to reoccur.
Once instability is there it usually sticks around. Especially if a player is rushed back into action like the Panthers have seemingly done in recent years.
So what can the team do to limit the risk of another injury?
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.
Carolina Panthers must be cautious with Christian McCaffrey
When Christian McCaffrey is inevitably on the field, the Carolina Panthers have to be smart about how they use him. Offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo cannot call plays for him constantly and whoever is under center must not become overreliant on the running back moving forward.
If a player is open, throw the ball to them. But don’t force the Stanford product to make things happen all the time, which has been the case more often than not throughout his stint with the organization.
Doing too much is a recipe for disaster.
Use McCaffrey as bait, move the running back around the formation, and throw the other way. Limit the amount of punishment he takes when on the field.
It’s so very tempting when you have a player of this caliber to overuse them. But it simply isn’t a sustainable plan given what’s transpired with McCaffrey over the last two seasons.
While there is no surefire way to prevent injuries, these are some simple steps that can and must be taken to lessen the overall risk of another lost season. And yes, there is something to be said of saving McCaffrey from himself, but the team also bears that weight.
The Panthers must keep McCaffrey healthy before it’s too late and he becomes another “could have been” while the team sees their potential playoff window close once again.