Panthers Place RB Christian McCaffrey On IR, Among Other Moves

The Carolina Panthers announced that they are placing RB Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve due to a hamstring injury, along with rookie G Deonte Brown.

#Panthers placed Christian McCaffrey & Deonte Brown on injured reserve https://t.co/zPDA45qLPy

— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) October 16, 2021

The Panthers are also elevating P Ryan Winslow and RB Spencer Brown to the active roster for Week 6 and are signing G Michael Jordan from the practice squad.

McCaffrey appeared to be trending towards a return this weekend but was later downgraded on Thursday with a hamstring injury. 

Rhule said McCaffrey tested his hamstring Wednesday and it wasn’t ready. However, Rhule said he wouldn’t characterize this as a setback and they are “hopeful” he can return next week. This no longer appears to be the case as McCaffrey will at least miss the next three games.

McCaffrey, 25, is a former first-round pick of the Panthers back in 2017. He was entering the final year of his four-year, $17.224 million contract when the Panthers signed him to a new four-year, $64 million contract extension that also included his expected fifth-year option.

Carolina opted to restructure McCaffrey’s deal back in March, along with that of LB Shaq Thompson.

In 2021, McCaffrey has appeared in three games for the Panthers and rushed 52 times for 201 yards and one touchdown. He also has 16 receptions for 163 yards.