There was some good news for Christian McCaffrey on Monday as Panthers head coach Matt Rhule says his injured hamstring won’t require a stint on the injured reserve list, Darin Gantt of the team website reports.
This means that CMC could return in less than three games, which would have been the minimum stint on IR. The Panthers are hoping to avoid a repeat of last year, when the running back missed all but three games with a shoulder injury. When healthy, there are few playmakers quite like McCaffrey.
In 2019, CMC set the league on fire with 2,392 all-purpose yards and 19 touchdowns. Through his two games-and-change this year, McCaffrey looked sharp with 52 carries for 201 yards and a touchdown, plus 16 grabs for 163 yards.
Meanwhile, cornerback Jaycee Horn will likely land on the IR list now that he’s set for surgery on his broken foot. In a best case scenario, Horn could still return towards the end of the season. In the meantime, he’ll be replaced by newcomer C.J. Henderson, a highly-touted first rounder from just last year.
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