With the Carolina Panthers sitting at 1-5 and Matt Rhule already fired before the 2022 trade deadline, then-general manager Scott Fitterer traded Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers for second, third, and fourth-round picks in 2023 and a 2024 fifth-rounder.
And as Carolina prepares to face McCaffrey for the first time since the deal, the big question is: Was it the right move for the Panthers?
Carolina entered the 2023 offseason with only four draft picks. McCaffrey, despite recent injuries, remained their most valuable piece outside of edge rusher Brian Burns.
As one league source put it, "It was never like an epiphany, like, 'What a great idea! Let's trade Christian McCaffrey,'" but the Panthers also understood a painful truth: “to get a quarterback you have to sacrifice.”
Carolina Panthers didn't spend their assets wisely ater trading Christian McCaffrey
After the trade, McCaffrey led the NFL in rushing in 2023. Won Offensive Player of the Year. Helped carry San Francisco to Super Bowl LVIII, where they fell just short to the Kansas City Chiefs. And now in 2025, at age 29, he again leads the league in scrimmage yards.
Meanwhile, for the Panthers, they used their 2024 first-round pick, D.J. Moore, a few other picks, and the Niners’ second-rounder from the McCaffrey deal to move up to No. 1 overall in 2023 and draft Bryce Young.
Young has flashed brilliance, including a franchise-record 448 passing yards and three touchdowns in Week 11 against the Atlanta Falcons. Still, his inconsistent play leaves everyone wondering whether he is the team's long-term answer.
Had the Panthers kept McCaffrey and stayed put, the 2024 quarterback class offered Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, Michael Penix Jr., J.J. McCarthy, and Bo Nix — six players all taken in the top 12.
Instead, Carolina finished 2-15 in 2023 and watched their pick turn into No. 1 overall. The Chicago Bears used it to take Williams.
Overall, the full return for McCaffrey turned into a trade for Young (sort of), edge rusher D.J. Johnson, traded up for with the 2023 third-rounder (released in 2025), and Chau Smith-Wade, a 2024 fifth-rounder with seven starts in 24 games.
Back then, the logic checked out. Carolina needed draft capital. They needed a path to securing a new franchise quarterback. And they needed a rebuild after years of stagnation.
Sure, the return wasn’t ideal, but it was reasonable for a running back with recent injuries. The organization believed it was the only way to reset.
- Trade grade in 2022: B-
But fast forward three years, and it’s not looking as attractive. The Panthers never maximized the picks. Their quarterback search got messier, not cleaner. And one of the best players in franchise history went on to have the career the Panthers hoped he would, only for a different team.
Now, if Young becomes a star, this grade rises dramatically. If the former Alabama sensation becomes what Carolina envisaged before the 2023 draft, the McCaffrey trade becomes the painful but necessary sacrifice that eventually gave the franchise its new identity.
But until Young shows consistency, this trade deserves nothing higher than a D grade.