Christian McCaffrey to miss practice with shoulder injury. What we know about his status
Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey injured his right shoulder on the last drive of Sunday’s 33-31 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, coach Matt Rhule said Monday.
Rhule said McCaffrey is “day-to-day,” and he was evaluated by team doctor’s Monday. The running back is not expected to play Sunday vs. the Buccaneers and is receiving a second opinion on the injury, per a league source.
The injury occurred after he caught a pass and tried to run for a first down with 1:05 remaining, according to review of the play. Chiefs safety Daniel Sorenson tackled McCaffrey, which caused him to land hard on his shoulder. McCaffrey got up slow and ran straight to the sidelines.
He rotated his shoulder in a circular motion before a trainer came over to check on him. He missed the next four plays before returning to the game.
McCaffrey was not made available to the media after Sunday’s game and wasn’t available Monday.
Sunday was McCaffrey’s first game back since suffering a high ankle sprain in Week 2.
If he does miss this week’s game against Tampa Bay, it would be a big blow to a team already dealing with injuries to key starters. Starting left tackle Russell Okung has missed two straight games with a calf injury, but one positive for the Panthers is that running back Reggie Bonnafon has been signed to the active roster Bonnafon will give the team additional depth at running back.
McCaffrey finished Sunday’s game with 10 catches, 82 yards receiving, 69 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
“I was happy to see him out there,” Rhule said of McCaffrey’s return, “discouraged for him that he got banged up and we’ll see the extent of it as we move forward.”
McCaffrey leads the Panthers with six touchdowns (five rushing, one receiving) in three games this season. With a variety of weapons, he makes the Panthers’ offense tougher to stop.
But the Panthers have played six games without him, and his replacement, Mike Davis, played well in his absence. Davis is second on the team with 43 receptions. He also leads the Panthers with 353 yards rushing.
This story was originally published November 9, 2020 at 11:23 AM with the headline "Christian McCaffrey to miss practice with shoulder injury. What we know about his status."
