Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey has a new home following a trade to the San Francisco 49ers. McCaffrey, a former First-Team All-Pro, battled injuries for most of the past two seasons but has remained healthy thus far in 2022.
Full terms:
— The #49ers get star RB Christian McCaffrey.
— The #Panthers get a 2nd round pick in 2023, a third-rounder in 2023, and a fourth-round pick in 2023. Plus, a fifth-rounder in 2024.Massive.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 21, 2022
Carolina Panthers, San Francisco 49ers, Agree to Christian McCaffrey Trade
This move felt inevitable following the firing of former head coach Matt Rhule. The Carolina Panthers are clearly entering the next phase of a rebuild, and the 26-year-old McCaffrey simply won’t be in his prime when this team is ready to compete again. When healthy, he is still one of the better running backs in the league and will unquestionably upgrade the backfield on his new team.
McCaffrey initially entered the NFL as a first-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. Selected by the Carolina Panthers, the Stanford product immediately made an impact at the professional level. Appearing in all 16 games, McCaffrey finished his rookie season with 435 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns on 117 carries. However, he made a much bigger impact in the passing game, hauling in 80 receptions for 651 yards and five touchdowns on 113 targets.
That was just a taste of what was to come, as McCaffrey took his game to the next level. Over the next two seasons, McCaffrey recorded a combined 2,485 rushing yards, 1,872 receiving yards and 32 touchdowns on a league-leading 729 touches. He did all this despite catching passes from an injured Cam Newton and Kyle Allen, earning First-Team All-Pro honors in 2019 for his incredible performance.
Unfortunately, McCaffrey spent most of the next two seasons battling injury. Fighting off a series of ailments, the running back played in just 10 games from 2020 to 2021, but remained dominant when on the field. When on the field, the running back recorded 667 rushing yards to go along with 54 receptions for 492 yards and a combined eight touchdowns.
