The Panthers have internally discussed a new long-term deal for star running back Christian McCaffrey, GM Marty Hurney says (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s David Newton).
[RELATED: Panthers Aren’t Shopping Curtis Samuel]
“Obviously, we’ve had internal discussions. Everybody knows what we think of Christian as a player. Other than that I can’t really say any more,” Hurney said.
McCaffrey is heading into the final year of his rookie deal, though the Panthers still hold a fifth-year option on him for the 2021 season. It’s no secret that the Panthers want to keep CMC for the long haul, but they don’t necessarily have to rush things, either.
The Panthers will have to weigh CMC’s performance and massive potential against the past perils of running back contracts. In the summer of 2018, the Rams handed Todd Gurley a four-year, $60MM deal to make him the highest-paid RB in the NFL. At the time, Gurley was fresh off of winning the league’s Offensive Player of the Year trophy. Less than two years later, the Rams released him outright. That’s just the latest example of a high-priced RB deal going south and no tailback is immune from the risk of injury – that includes McCaffrey.
CMC, who won’t turn 24 until June, earned his first career Pro Bowl and First-Team All-Pro selections in 2019. Even though the Panthers struggled on the whole, he managed 1,387 rushing yards off of 287 carries, good for an average of 4.8 yards per tote. And, for good measure, he added another 116 catches for 1,005 yards receiving. All together, he scored 19 touchdowns on the year.
BuT yOu CaN’t GiVe RbS eXtEnTiOnS
You can it’s just not a good idea
McCaffery going to overtake Zeke
Zeke is 1-2 in playoffs for 309 rushing yards. Not worth paying high end bucks to RB’s.
The problem is cause rbs can’t win or lose games that’s why they aren’t worth big bucks
He scored 19 touchdowns last season. You don’t think that is how you “win games”? How many QB’s run or catch 1,000 yds a season? How many WR’s rush for 1,000 yds a season? When you have a guy who puts up the numbers Christian does, you SHOULD pay him according to his production.
I think CMC would be one of those rare occasions where I’d think about giving a RB an extension…
Trade him to a team that is going to compete over the next 4 years. Let them pay him and let him sacrifice his body in games that matter.
Do you know who is going to compete? In the AFC East alone, I’ll still take the Pats over the Fins, Jets & Bills. The NFC West had a great running game, brilliant HC, and snazzy GM with up & coming QB. That could be either the Rams or 9’ers.
Maybe worth it, they could always move him off RB into the slot and still get value for a 12-14M/yr deal in year 4 or 5. Should extend Samuel too, under market before he has a breakout.
Cam & Luke both gone as the old “faces” of the franchise, paired with his versatility, seem to lead to them going ahead and giving him slightly higher than $15mm AAV. If they can get it for less, good for them. RB is my favorite position in sports, but it’s just not worth it.
He’s totally worth it. If he’s taking a pounding and he’s getting beat up. He is still a high end slot receiver
Mulling? You better lock him up and make sure Teddy has the best help he can get from that position. McCaffrey is the only RB that deserves the amount of money top tier RBs demand due to the overall impact he has on that team.
The people saying not to pay McCaffrey because he’s a RB… you do see he’s much more than that, right? 116 receptions for 1005 yards and 4 TD. Obviously he’s not getting those numbers the way an elite receiver does, but he’s not just a RB, he’s an offensive weapon. If his legs start going he can be moved to slot WR.
Gurley suffered an injury so that provides a reason for not giving other RBs extensions? Well, if your going to use that kind of logic then you shouldn’t offer contract extensions to anyone who is at risk of being injured.