CHARLOTTE, NC — Carolina Panthers run again Christian McCaffrey will miss the rest of the season because of a left ankle injury suffered in the first half of Sunday 33-10 lose in Miami Dolphins.
Coach Matt Rhule said an initial X-ray on Sunday showed the injury was not too serious. But a resonator photo the following morning showed enough damage to place McCaffrey on the season-ending bench injured as it took time for him to recover.
McCaffrey will not need surgery provided his ankle heals, a source said, and he is expected to be ready for the 2022 season.
The Panthers (5-7) will be bye this week, so McCaffrey will miss the final five games of the regular season. He has missed five games this season with a hamstring injury in Week 3. He missed 13 games last season through multiple injuries.
Since signing a four-year, $64 million contract extension, making him the highest-paid player in NFL history, McCaffrey will have played just 10 of 33 games at the end of this season.
His most recent injury occurred on a second-quarter Sunday. McCaffrey didn’t play the final series of the inning and only played a snap in the second half before shutting down completely.
He’s seen a 57-game streak of catching at least one pass, tied for the longest streak by a showdown with Theo Reddick from 2014 to 2018, which ended on Sunday.
As of 2019, when McCaffrey became the third player in NFL history to have 1,000 yards of javelin and receive in the same season, the 2017 draft’s eighth pick has only 1,159 combined yards – 667 javes and 492 times take.
McCaffrey has reappeared in form after returning from a hamstring injury. He’s been 421 yards from script on 68 touches over the past four weeks as the Panthers track his snap count more closely.
He will finish the 2021 season with 442 quick yards and 343 picks in seven games.
With McCaffrey out, find the rookie Chuba Hubbard and Ameer Abdullah to share tasks in the backyard. Hubbard was the lead back when McCaffrey was sidelined with a hamstring injury, rushing 329 yards in five games.
Abdullah was in the spotlight Sunday after McCaffrey was injured when the Panthers ran away to play catch up. He was targeted six times but had only two catches in 20 metres.
