Panthers' Christian McCaffrey Misses Practice with Quad Injury; Status for Week 4 TBD

Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule told reporters running back Christian McCaffrey is dealing with a quad injury and didn't provide answers as to whether he will be ready for Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals.

Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports provided more details:

McCaffrey, who is in his sixth NFL season, has amassed 300 total yards and one touchdown in three games. He's rushed for 4.9 yards per carry and caught 10 passes for 57 yards.

The former Stanford star dominated the NFL in 2018 and 2019, posting 4,357 yards and 32 touchdowns. He notably led the league with 2,392 total yards and 19 scores in 2019.

Unfortunately, injuries held him to just 10 games over the next two years. McCaffrey sat due to a high ankle sprain and then a shoulder injury in 2020. Another ankle issue ended his 2021 season prematurely.

The 26-year-old returned healthy for 2022 and played in his first two games, but he landed on the team's injury report in the week leading up to a Sept. 25 matchup with the New Orleans Saints. Officially, the designation was "not injury related—resting player/ankle."

Joseph Person of The Athletic reported that McCaffrey was limited with ankle stiffness, but the running back didn't appear concerned about his Week 3 status and ended up playing in the game.

If McCaffrey has to miss any time, the remainder of the Panthers' depth chart at running back consists of D'Onta Foreman, Chuba Hubbard and Raheem Blackshear.

Hubbard, a second-year pro out of Oklahoma State, took over for McCaffrey last year and had 612 rushing yards and five touchdowns. He rushed for 3.6 yards per carry.

Foreman also took over for an injured star RB last year in the Tennessee Titans' Derrick Henry (Jones fracture). He ended up with 699 total yards and three touchdowns alongside 4.3 yards per carry.

Blackshear is an undrafted rookie free agent out of Virginia Tech whom the Panthers signed off the Buffalo Bills' practice squad.