Panthers’ Christian McCaffrey looks ‘fresh and fast,’ but when could he be activated?
Panthers offensive coordinator Joe Brady was asked Thursday how Christian McCaffrey has looked at practice.
“He’s Christian McCaffrey,” Brady said.
Well, there you go.
After being designated to return from injured reserve last week, McCaffrey has continued to participate in practice this week. Panthers coach Matt Rhule said Thursday that he looked “fresh and fast” in practice. McCaffrey is trending in the direction of being available for Sunday’s game visiting the Kansas City Chiefs (7-1).
During the period open to the media, McCaffrey’s practice included a sprint down the field and no signs of limitations.
“You can tell that he’s just eager to just get back out there,” quarterback Teddy Bridgewater said. “We’ve watched how hard he’s worked; he’s a true grinder. So, I think he just gave y’all something, some eye candy or something.”
Then why hasn’t McCaffrey been added to the active roster yet?
The priority is making sure that the running back doesn’t have any setbacks as he continues to take part in practice. The Panthers (3-5) do not want to play him until he’s 100%.
“If we played right now, I feel like he’d be able to play,” Rhule said. “It’s just one of those deals where like I don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves. Like, we’re just trying to take him day-by-day and make sure that, we had a good workout (Wednesday), 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 (Friday). So, day-by-day.
“But at the same time, things are trending and moving in the right direction. He’s getting better and better, so it’s just a matter of ... just no setback.”
Rhule declined to officially say whether McCaffrey would play Sunday.
The All-Pro suffered a high ankle sprain in the team’s Week 2 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 20 and has missed the next six games. The team has gone 3-3 in his absence.
The Panthers do not have to add him to the roster until 4 p.m. Saturday. From a competitive perspective, there’s no rush to say whether he’ll plays and show the Panthers’ cards — although, they certainly won’t fool the Chiefs.
Making sure those setbacks don’t take place also plays a factor in waiting to add him to the active roster. Adding someone to the roster also means taking someone off the roster. On Thursday, the Panthers released undrafted offensive lineman Sam Tecklenburg from Baylor, leaving the roster with one open spot.
If everything continues as is, he is on pace to play Sunday. But there is no rushing an official announcement of him back either way.
“Exactly what you guys expect out of Christian is Christian,” Brady said. “We’re excited to have him, hopeful to be able to get him to play this week.”
For now, Panthers fans and fantasy owners alike, stay tuned. There’s no need to rush this.
This story was originally published November 5, 2020 at 7:01 PM with the headline "Panthers’ Christian McCaffrey looks ‘fresh and fast,’ but when could he be activated?."
