‘He’s a warrior, man’: Make-A-Wish kid joins McCaffrey, Panthers for practice

Meghan and Jason Raper woke up their 11-year-old son Peyton on Tuesday morning with some big news.

His wish was coming true — Peyton would be a Carolina Panther for the day.

“He screamed out a big, ‘Let’s go,’ and hopped right into the shower,” said his father, Jason Raper. “It’s never been that easy to get him up and going.”

During the Panthers’ organized team activities later that morning, the team hosted the Raper family after hearing about Peyton’s dream through the Make-A-Wish foundation.

“I’ve always heard they did great charity work, but I never imagined it would be this amazing,” said the youth’s mother, Meghan Muscarella. “It’s going to mean the world to him for the rest of his life.”

Peyton, who lives in Sneads Ferry near Jacksonville, battles Burkitt’s lymphoma, a rare and highly aggressive form of cancer that attacks the immune system.

His favorite sport is football, and he and his family are big Panthers fans. “Our house is kind of scary on Sundays,” Meghan said.

He says his favorite player is Christian McCaffrey because of his speed, and on Tuesday, it was McCaffrey who showed Peyton the ropes during the two-hour practice.

The boy wore a customized No. 21 jersey, along with his own set of gloves and helmet. McCaffrey, sporting his trademark No. 22, was never far away. Head coach Ron Rivera later described Peyton as McCaffrey’s “mini-me.”

“He tapped Christian on his shoulder, ‘Hey that’s my dad, my mom,’” Jason said. “Christian gave us a thumbs-up as well.”

At one point in the practice, Peyton stood with the Panthers’ offensive line, waiting to hear the play call.

On the snap, he snagged the ball from quarterback Taylor Heinicke, and ran up field, smiling. Peyton went through each of the drills with the team, hardly stopping to take a drink of water.

“He’s a warrior, man,” McCaffrey said. “He’s got all the intangibles. It was a blast having him out here today. I think he had a lot of fun getting to meet a lot of the guys, compete a little bit.”

Different players stopped to talk to Peyton or his parents. Afterward, McCaffrey said he and his teammates were inspired by the boy’s efforts, on and off the field.

“He said it — hard work pays off,” McCaffrey said. “Having him out there, going through all of the drills just like everybody else. He’s got a lot of grit.”

After the practice, Peyton appeared to be at a loss for words. When asked by the media what was his favorite part of the day, he took a slight step back and looked up toward McCaffrey.

“Hanging out with Christian,” Peyton said. “It was fun, super fun ... I didn’t think I was going to be able to do that.”

McCaffrey said his new teammate left a lasting impression.

“Going through what he’s gone through and going through, and being able to spend some time with us really puts it into perspective,” McCaffrey said. “He brought a lot to us today — his energy, his enthusiasm. Being out here with all of us was a heck of a day.

“It was an honor.”

This story was originally published May 28, 2019 at 3:54 PM.