Christian McCaffrey absent from open portion of Panthers practice

History may be repeating itself as it pertains to the status of Carolina Panthers star running back Christian McCaffrey, this time ahead of Sunday's matchup against the 2-3 Minnesota Vikings. 

Per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk, McCaffrey was nowhere to be seen during the portion of Thursday's practice session open to the media. This development came roughly 24 hours after Panthers head coach Matt Rhule told reporters McCaffrey was "probably 50-50" to play coming off the hamstring injury he first suffered on Sept. 23 that's kept him out of action since. 

McCaffrey was limited throughout last week ahead of the game versus the Philadelphia Eagles and was later ruled out for that contest. Carolina lost to the Eagles 21-18 and fell to 3-2 on the campaign.

As noted by ESPN stats, rookie Chuba Hubbard has become Carolina's leading rusher in McCaffrey's absence with 220 rushing yards on 56 carries. He also has 12 receptions for 78 yards. Unless Rhule is looking to fool the media and, in the process, the Vikings, it appears Hubbard will be RB1 again this weekend.