Christian McCaffrey: Denver Broncos should avoid Panthers RB
Running back Christian McCaffrey is reportedly being considered for trade but the Denver Broncos shouldn’t be interested.
Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey was a first-round pick out of Stanford in 2017. Once regarded as a steal, a tremendous pick by Carolina, he, unfortunately, has been unable to avoid the injury bug. The Panthers are reportedly open to trading him. The Denver Broncos should not entertain it.
While he played every game over the first three years of his career, the past two years have not been kind to him in terms of staying healthy. The NFL added an extra game to the schedule in 2021, making each team play 17 games. Still, McCaffrey will have played just 10 total games during the last two years—total.
He suffered an ankle injury against the Miami Dolphins that knocked him out for the rest of the year. Unfortunately, this is the big reason why teams aren’t fond of paying top dollars to running backs. This is the big reason why the Denver Broncos cannot consider acquiring McCaffrey.
The Broncos signed Melvin Gordon in 2020 and drafted Javonte Williams out of North Carolina in the 2021 NFL Draft. This tandem worked out great for the team in 2021. Gordon’s contract expires in the new league year but I would much rather the Broncos re-sign him than trade for McCaffrey at this point.
Some feel the decision might be difficult.
While McCaffrey’s upside is high, there are just too many risks regarding him. Running back is currently a strength of the team and even if Gordon is not retained in the offseason, that’s a sign that Williams is the featured back in Denver with the potential addition of a draftee or a running back that won’t tie the team down in cap space.
Fans may want Christian McCaffrey due to his namesake, but that’s not enough reason to acquire him. They should look elsewhere for running back additions.