Lea: Panthers need to move on from CMC as their running back

By Chris Lea, WRAL-TV sports anchor, reporter

I've seen enough and now I'm here.

The Carolina Panthers placing Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve for the second time this year effectively ended his season, which means when this year ends, 22 would have only played 12 of a possible 33 regular season games under Matt Rhule. There needs to be some change.

Make sure you read the headline correctly, however. I don't think the Panthers should move McCaffrey via trade or release him, that wouldn't be smart. But what's also not smart is to continue to use a 205-pound man as your primary between the tackles running back, which routinely gets him sandwiched between 300-pound men. Jonathan Stewart played at around 245 pounds during his tenure with the Panthers. Many of the best running backs in the NFL right now play at 225 or heavier, which doesn't prevent injury, but does help absorb some of the punishment those men take at that position. 225 or more won't allow McCaffrey to be as effective as he is now when he's healthy.

So how should the Panthers use CMC?

Move him to wide receiver. The last thing the Panthers need is to once again prematurely move on from one of the players that has a deep connection with the fan base.

McCaffrey is arguably already the best receiver on the field and he's always touted for how well he already runs the full route tree. You could also use his speed on jet sweeps and maybe even still line him up in the backfield for special designed runs 2-4 times per game. But as a receiver, there's no doubt he could still be that safety blanket for whomever is the starting quarterback of the future (which is a different discussion). He could have a Julian Edelman impact on the Panthers offense.

McCaffrey is under contract with the team through the 2025 season when he'll be 29 years old. 29 is old for a running back, but as a wide receiver his career could be elongated and maybe he'll still have more in the tank for a few years after that.

This move doesn't guarantee perfect health, but it can help the Panthers get more out of their investment. McCaffrey is guaranteed to make a minimum of $44 Million if he's still on the roster through the end of his current deal, which is too much for a player to be paid to only play five to seven games a season. However, $44 Million over four years is a deal for a top-level wide receiver, which I believe he could be right now.

The shift could also save the Panthers money in their wide receiver room. DJ Moore is set to make a little over $11 Million next season, but will be looking to get paid with a brand new deal for the 2023 season. 22 switching positions could give the Panthers a solid replacement if the price to keep Moore in Charlotte is too steep.

Chuba Hubbard and Ameer Abdullah will be splitting the carries for the rest of the season with CMC being out and the Panthers don't have tons of money tied up between those two players. I love when players get paid because they deserve it, but it's hard to justify paying running backs large sums of money when their production windows are so short. If the team drafts a decent running back every other year in the third or fourth round they could keep a good rotation going and not be in the situation they're in now.

McCaffrey is way too dynamic to just give him away to another team or to continue to get hurt getting hit as much as he is between the tackles. Plus, McCaffrey in the slot, with Moore and Robby Anderson on the outside sounds like a matchup nightmare for defenses which is all good with me.