The Panthers have difficult decisions to make at quarterback, and those decisions are bleeding through to the rest of their offseason. With Matt Corral joining Sam Darnold in the QB room and the door far from closed on a Baker Mayfield trade, the roster is in flux as Matt Rhule tries to put together a season of more than five wins.
If rumors are to be believed, however, the Panthers are not entertaining trade offers for everyone on their roster. NFL media personality Adam Caplan reported that Carolina has received interest from at least one team looking to acquire running back Christian McCaffrey — the one player it should be entertaining offers on — but the Panthers told the team that McCaffrey was not available.
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Adam @caplannfl just mentioned that the Bills reached out to Carolina about Christian McCaffrey... and were told he was not available. https://t.co/z7HnCO4QYM
— Joe Dolan (@FG_Dolan) May 11, 2022
McCaffrey was seen as a generational running back coming out of Stanford in 2017. He lived up to that hype for three seasons, culminating in a 2019 All-Pro nod when he gained 2,392 yards from scrimmage.
But McCaffrey has played in just 10 games total in the past two seasons because of injuries and has gained 1,159 total yards.
The bigger problem with McCaffrey is his contract. The four-year, $64 million extension he signed in 2020 begins this season, and though his cap hit for 2022 is just $8,785 million, it will jump to $19.55 million in each of the next two seasons and $15.45 million in 2025. The silver lining for Carolina is McCaffrey will be 30 by the time his contract is up — he'll turn 26 this June 6.
If it's true the Panthers are hanging up the phone on teams calling about McCaffrey — and take all May reports with a grain of salt — then general manager Scott Fitterer and the Panthers may be confused about where their franchise is. No running back is making more per year right now than McCaffrey, with Alvin Kamara and Ezekiel Elliott making the second- and third-most, respectively.
One odd thing about Caplan's report: The Panthers were reportedly fielding calls about McCaffrey as recently as March. Then, their asking price was a first-round pick and a player with a low cap hit, It seems unlikely that any team could meet that.
But, looking ahead, here are three teams that could put together an offer for McCaffrey.
Bills
The team Caplan named in his report would be an ideal suitor. Despite having one of the deepest offenses in the league, running back is a pain point. The Bills drafted James Cook this year, but there's still room for another body. There's also the Carolina connection with GM Brandon Beane and coach Sean McDermott at the helm in Buffalo.
The Bills have the talent to trade, but there's also the obvious drawback of a team with Super Bowl aspirations paying a running back McCaffrey money. That's not something contenders generally do.
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Jaguars
The Jaguars need to add juice to their offense. With Trevor Lawrence on a rookie deal, they could weather McCaffrey's contract with room to spare. Travis Etienne is a good backfield option, but their receiving corps leaves a lot to be desired. McCaffrey's versatility as a runner and receiver would be invaluable for Lawrence; it would give Jacksonville another player who can move in space.
Dolphins
McCaffrey and the Dolphins also seem like a natural fit. New head coach Mike McDaniel could get a lot out of McCaffrey — look at what he did with Deebo Samuel in San Francisco — although putting McCaffrey alongside Tyreek Hill could create a sharing problem. Similar to Lawrence in Jacksonville, Tua Tagovailoa isn't eating up a ton of Miami's salary cap.
McCaffrey is a supremely talented player whose injury history, especially the number of lower-body strains, makes him a high risk for reinjury, and Carolina simply can't afford that. The NFC South has the Buccaneers looking to be Super Bowl contenders, the Saints as total wild cards and the Falcons as non-factors. If the Panthers want to play meaningful football past November, they have to consider all of their options this offseason.
