Christian McCaffrey will likely play vs. Chiefs. How will his return impact Panthers?
The NFL’s trade deadline came and went with little noise around the league.
But despite the lack of dramatic roster shuffling, the Carolina Panthers are hoping to get a boost from some bodies that they’ve been missing lately.
Running back Christian McCaffrey is progressing in the right direction as he practiced in pads Wednesday for the first time since he suffered a high-ankle sprain during the Panther’s Week 2 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 20. But he’s not the only player the Panthers would be happy to see back in the lineup sooner rather than later (although there’s no one else who gathers quite that level of attention).
A look at some other players that the Panthers are expecting to get back soon and their impact on the season.
Christian McCaffrey
The Panthers (3-5) have gone 3-3 without the All-Pro running back, with Mike Davis stepping up in McCaffrey’s absence. In his six starts, Davis has 83 rushing attempts for 349 yards and two rushing touchdowns, in addition to 30 receptions for 170 yards and two receiving scores.
But there is no replacing someone like McCaffrey.
“Mike, he’s a good football player. And they’re blessed to have a couple pretty good football players right there. McCaffrey arguably is one of the MVPs of this league,” Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Wednesday. “He is a heck of a football player, and he does so many things for you. You got to know where he’s at and how he goes about his business.”
McCaffrey is on pace to be available for Sunday’s game in Kansas City against the 7-1 Chiefs. He was designated to return from injured reserve prior to last week’s Thursday night loss to the Falcons, but the short week played a factor in him not being ready for that game.
“Christian looked good today. He looked fresh and fast.,” head coach Matt Rhule said Thursday. “I think he recovered well from yesterday.”
Rhule said that he’s continuing to take a cautious approach to having McCaffrey back, as the Panthers have since the injury occurred.
“If we played right now, I feel like he’d be able to play. It’s just one of those deals where like I don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves,” Rhule said. “We’re just trying to take him day by day and make sure that, we had a good workout yesterday, he handled it well, we had a good workout today. We’ve practiced well and hard and so we’ll see where he’s at tomorrow. So, day by day.”
Impact: Having McCaffrey, a first-year team captain who missed his first games as a professional this year, back on the field makes this offense instantly better. The Panthers now have two running backs to work with and another dangerous weapon at receiver with him on the field. With him only playing two games in coordinator Joe Brady’s offense, the full potential of the group that was expected to be planned around McCaffrey and quarterback Teddy Bridgewater hasn’t yet been realized. It also gives Brady an opportunity to have a lot of fun utilizing both Davis and McCaffrey.
“Whenever you just have everybody available, yeah there’s a lot of possibilities. You got two guys that can catch the ball out of the backfield and run the ball,” Brady said. “It gives you matchups that you kind of look into and see if you want to take advantage of that. But yeah, everything’s on the table this week for sure.”
The Panthers have taken the smart approach in waiting until he is 100% healthy to play him again, but there is no doubt his availability makes the whole team better.
“Christian is a special player,” Panthers center Matt Paradis said this week. “That’s not a knock on Mike at all. Mike’s done a great job for us and will continue to do so. But Christian is a special player. We’ve seen it year in year out, and it will good to have him back.”
Rasul Douglas
Panthers cornerback Rasul Douglas spent the last two weeks on the reserve/COVID-19 list, but was added back to the active roster Monday. Injuries in the secondary have been a major issue for the young defense.
Safety Juston Burris (ribs) is on injured reserve at least through this week and cornerback Donte Jackson has been dealing with a turf toe injury for a majority of the season that has caused him to leave multiple games early.
Douglas was claimed on waivers from the Philadelphia Eagles just prior to the start of the season and has turned into one of the team’s best offseason acquisitions. He is even more important to the team’s corner depth after Eli Apple was released last week after playing in just one game on defense.
“It was fantastic to have Rasul back. He’s a really, really, really good corner,” Rhule said. “Really good player, but he’s an even better teammate. A tremendous leader. I just love having the guy around. I know his teammates do too. So, I was happy to see him back out there and back at it.”
Impact: Douglas led the charge for a team meeting in September that brought the group closer together. As one of the veterans in a young secondary, he’s frequently described as a leader.
On the field, he has played more than 98% of the defensive snaps in each of his last four games. He has allowed receptions on 18 of 30 targets (60%), best among the Panthers secondary with more than one target, per Pro Football Focus. Douglas has not given up a touchdown while in coverage this year and has six passes defensed.
“It means a lot (to have Douglas back). I’m sure you guys can see it,” Jackson said. “He’s just been a guy who never complains, just comes out and works. Just getting him back, definitely gives us a great boost of confidence just to have him back on the field, moving around and just to get to see him in the building is definitely a great, great feeling.”
Other Panthers players to keep an eye on:
Donte Jackson: Jackson’s injury has been a constant issue, and with the weekend off due to last week’s Thursday night game, he visited some specialists for help on the turf toe.
“I’m trying a new acupuncture routine to help minimize the pain when it does start hurting,” Jackson said. “That’s something I’ve been doing that since Friday and that’s been like throughout the weekend and letting it like rest a little bit, and still staying on it with the treatment. That helped me have a better day today on it.”
Jackson and Douglas are the Panthers’ two starting corners and the defense gains a lot from having them in the lineup. A variety of young players, including seventh-round pick Stan Thomas-Oliver, saw playing time in the loss to Atlanta after Jackson left the game. While it’s good experience, getting the team’s best players back healthy is important.
The third-year corner practiced in full Wednesday, but his practice participation hasn’t been much of an indicator for how much he’ll play in a game. Jackson has played through the injury — something Rhule has recognized and appreciated — and expressed frustration over it. With the help of the new treatment, the Panthers will hope to have both Sunday against Patrick Mahomes.
Zach Kerr: The defensive tackle’s name hasn’t come up as much as it should recently. Dealing with a toe injury as well, Kerr missed his first game of the season last week.
The Panthers are already without DT Kawann Short (shoulder) for the season. The depth at defensive tackle is limited and Kerr has been a fine addition next to rookie Derrick Brown as part of the line rotation that the Panthers use.
He was limited in practice Wednesday, but would be another big defensive addition in the interior to have back. Rhule said Monday that he was “hopeful” about Kerr’s availability.
Michael Schofield/Tyler Larsen: Both players returning from the COVID-19 list gives the Panthers more depth on the offensive line that was missing in the last two games.
Russell Okung: The left tackle has only played one 16-game season since he was drafted sixth overall by the Seattle Seahawks in 2010. And injuries have caught up with him in 2020 as well.
Okung has missed three games so far, mot recently dealing with a calf injury. Second-year left tackle Greg Little started for him last week, but was rotated out due to performance for veteran Trent Scott. Little is developing, but Okung is still the Panthers’ best option at left tackle.
Protecting Bridgewater has been discussed as a priority, especially as of late. In two of the Panthers’ three wins, Bridgewater has been sacked zero times.
“That’s one of our keys of victory each week to win the line of scrimmage and that includes burning the blitzes that teams may bring and just protecting the quarterback,” Bridgewater said. “If we can just do those things like coach said, the games would be much smoother.”
Yetur Gross-Matos: The rookie defensive end was placed on injured reserve after suffering a high-ankle injury in the Week 5 win over the Atlanta Falcons, but was designated for return Thursday. Gross-Matos won’t be rushed back, but will be a welcome addition to the defensive line rotation after he missed time early in the season.
“Just like Christian last week, I’m hopeful that maybe he can go this week,” Rhule said. “There’s so many things that have to happen for a guy to be able to go. He has to respond to the movement and all that, the first time actually practicing, but yeah, he was out there at practice and he practiced and looked good.”
This story was originally published November 5, 2020 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Christian McCaffrey will likely play vs. Chiefs. How will his return impact Panthers?."
