The 2022 NFL season has yet to reach its halfway point, but already, some teams know that they are destined to finish the season poorly.
One of those teams is the Panthers. Carolina came into the season hopeful that Baker Mayfield could fix the team's recent quarterback issues, but instead, the offense has sputtered badly. That led to the dismissal of head coach Matt Rhule after just five games and the replacement of Mayfield, who has an ankle injury, at quarterback with PJ Walker.
The Panthers don't appear like they are going to be very competitive for the rest of the 2022 campaign. The good news there is that they can get an early jump on preparing for the future. They can interview coaching candidates who are not currently working in the NFL and can also begin reshaping their roster under general manager Scott Fitterer.
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The best way for Carolina to do that will be to offload some of its veterans ahead of the Nov. 1 NFL trade deadline. The Panthers may not be good this year, but they aren't devoid of talent. As such, there should be plenty of teams interested in players on their roster.
That includes Christian McCaffrey. The sixth-year running back is in the midst of a solid start to the season and will certainly fetch some looks as the Panthers look to start over.
One team that could look at McCaffrey is the Bills. Buffalo is off to a strong 4-1 start to open the season and has few weaknesses. It does, however, have a need at the running back position, and the 26-year-old veteran could provide a nice spark there for Sean McDermott's squad.
Carolina isn't guaranteed to trade McCaffrey — or any of its players, for that matter. But it could. And here's why the Bills are getting buzz as a team for McCaffrey, even if the move isn't necessarily likely.
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Why there are Christian McCaffrey to the Bills rumors
There are a handful of reasons that the McCaffrey to the Bills buzz has grown over the last week.
The idea that the Bills could trade for McCaffrey started to make the rounds on social media shortly after the Panthers fired their coach Matt Rhule following a 1-4 start. That signaled that the Panthers are viewing 2022 as a lost season and could soon become one of the biggest trade deadline sellers.
Fox Sports' Jay Glazer reports that teams will be calling the Panthers about some of their veteran talents. Carolina may be looking at a rebuild and if it is, the team might want to stockpile draft capital to help accelerate the process.
That led many to point to Buffalo as a potential trade partner for Carolina. After all, the Bills are a contender and have shown a willingness to swing big to add pieces — like Von Miller — to their team.
It also helps that coach Sean McDermott worked for the Panthers before taking over as Buffalo's head coach in 2017. He has brought in players from the organization before and did so once via trade with Kelvin Benjamin. Unlike Benjamin, McDermott never coached McCaffrey, but the team-to-team connection is still there.
McCaffrey had been mentioned as a target of the Bills during the 2022 NFL offseason as well. No deal came to fruition, but the rumors from that time were enough to lead fans to connect the dots between McCaffrey and Buffalo.
Certainly, that running back also happens to be one of the Bills' lone weaknesses on either side of the ball further strengthened that connection. They have a few recent draft picks at the position, but none have the same type of dynamic ceiling and upside that McCaffrey possesses when healthy.
Bills RB depth chart
The Bills currently have five running backs within their organization and four on their active roster. They are as follows:
| Rank | Player |
| 1 | Devin Singletary |
| 2 | Zack Moss |
| 3 | James Cook |
| 4 | Taiwan Jones |
| 5 | Duke Johnson |
Singletary is the clear-cut leader of Buffalo's backfield, as he has played 66.4 percent of the offensive snaps this season. The fourth-year pro has been solid for the Bills this season. He is averaging 11.6 carries per game for 63.2 yards per game and has done well as both a runner and as a pass catcher.
Behind Singletary, Moss and Cook have been the ones getting the most work. Moss has played 21.5 percent of the snaps and has served as a decent power back for the team. Meanwhile, Cook has been in on just 13 percent of the snaps and has seen most of his work in garbage time.
Still, both backs have upside. Cook in particular could emerge as a top-tier receiver out of the backfield as he was at Georgia. Had he not fumbled on his first career carry, the Bills might have been willing to trust him more.
Further down the depth chart, Jones is a career special teamer who hasn't played an offensive snap this season while Johnson is on the team's practice squad.
McCaffrey is certainly a better No. 1 back than all of the players listed here. The Bills could consider targeting him to be the No. 1 back with Singletary being a backup and Moss and Cook serving as role players and change-of-pace options.
However, there is one major concern with which any team that acquires McCaffrey will have to deal. That's his contract.
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Christian McCaffrey contract
McCaffrey signed a big-money contract extension with the Panthers in April 2020. The deal keeps him tied to the organization through 2025 and makes him one of the league's highest-paid running backs.
McCaffrey's contains within it a contract worth up to $64 million over four years. That extension began in 2022, so the talented back is in the first year of his contract.
Below is a look at what the contract will cost the team that has McCaffrey at its disposal, per Spotrac.
| Year | Cap hit | Yearly cash |
| 2022 | $8.8 million | $8.6 million |
| 2023 | $19.55 million | $12 million |
| 2024 | $19.55 million | $12 million |
| 2025 | $19.55 million | $12.2 million |
On its surface, that may seem like a lot for a running back who has played in just 15 games (before Week 6) since 2019. However, Spotrac pointed out on Twitter that if dealt, McCaffrey's deal would essentially become a year-to-year option to keep him.
Acquiring RB Christian McCaffrey at the 11/1 #NFL Trade Deadline...
— Spotrac (@spotrac) October 10, 2022
2022: $575k (guaranteed)
2023: $12M ($0 guaranteed)
2024: $12M ($0 guaranteed)
2025: $12.2M ($0 guaranteed)#Panthers Dead Cap Hits:
2022: $8.2M ($575k saved)
2023: $18.3M ($1.2M saved)https://t.co/f2wgwEDaJW
Why is that the case? Because only the Panthers would take on the dead-cap hit by moving him. McCaffrey wouldn't add any dead money to the books for other teams.
What does this mean? Essentially, McCaffrey won't cost as much cash short- or long-term as some might think. The acquiring team could end up paying him about $36 million, but that's only if he is playing well enough up to his age-30 season to warrant keeping him.
As such, the appeal of acquiring McCaffrey would depend more on the draft compensation that would be surrendered in a deal for him than his contract. It is unclear at this point what Carolina's asking price for the star running back would be.
But certainly, the Bills will keep an eye on him if they think he can add a new element to the offense.
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Will the Bills trade for Christian McCaffrey?
No Bills trade for McCaffrey is imminent. A trade may not happen at all either, as there have been conflicting reports about whether they have reached out to the Panthers
That said, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported on Monday that the Panthers have yet to discuss McCaffrey with the Bills or any other team thus far.
The #Panthers haven't had trade talks about Christian McCaffrey with the #Bills or any other team this season, per sources. Carolina already paid most of his $8.6M salary in a bonus. Every team will be working the phones the next few weeks, but nothing in the works with CMC.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 10, 2022
The Bills still could trade for McCaffrey, but it might not be until closer to the Nov. 1 trade deadline,
Buffalo also might not need McCaffrey. The Bills skew toward being a pass-heavy offense; their 65.05 passing play percentage ranks fifth in the NFL and they have scored plenty of points even without a strong running game.
Perhaps if the draft capital cost of getting McCaffrey isn't too high, the Bills would want in on the sweepstakes. But given how their offense has looked without a top-tier No. 1 running back, they may be content to wait and see if Cook can break out the rest of the way.
And if not, then they can rely on Singletary and Allen to carry them on the ground.
