The teardown of the Carolina Panthers is now in overdrive, with the news late Thursday that the team is trading star tailback Christian McCaffery to the San Francisco 49ers for four draft picks.
McCaffery, after missing 23 games to injury over the past two seasons, has been healthy thus far in 2022, running for 393 yards and two TDs and catching a team-high 33 balls (on 43 targets) for 277 yards.
In his last injury-free season, in 2019, McCaffery became only the third player in NFL history to have 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving.
He became expendable as the team has limped out to a 1-5 start that led to the dismissal of third-year coach Matt Rhule, who finished his tenture in Carolina with an 11-27 record.
The team had only one winning season in McCaffery’s time in Charlotte – an 11-5 mark in 2017, his rookie year.
Published reports had the Panthers seeking two first-round picks in any deal for McCaffery, but in the end, the Niners, currently in a three-way tie for first in the NFC West with a 3-3 mark, only had to give up second-, third- and fourth-round picks in 2023 and a fifth-round pick in 2024.
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Chris Graham
