Christian McCaffrey was taken to the medical tent early against the Houston Texans on Thursday Night Football.
McCaffrey is easily the most important piece in the Carolina Panthers offense, with Sam Darnold a distant second.
Fantasy football owners across the country are suffering serious cardiac ailments at the moment, waiting for further updates on McCaffrey’s injury. For now, all we know is it’s a hamstring issue.
McCaffrey will miss the rest of the game. In fact, McCaffrey spent a full 22-minutes in the blue tent on Carolina’s sideline before heading back to the locker room.
The Panthers offense is incredibly reliant on McCaffrey, as Darnold having a real threat in the backfield opens up the play-action pass game. Without it, Darnold will have the responsibility of carrying the Panthers offensively squarely on him.
Panthers: Christian McCaffrey out for game against Texans
After having back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons, McCaffrey was limited to just three games in 2020 due to a variety of injuries. Those include a high ankle sprain and injuries to his shoulder and quadriceps. While Mike Davis put in solid production that year, McCaffrey simply makes the offense better.
Through the first two games of the 2021 campaign, McCaffrey rushed for 170 yards and a touchdown on 45 carries, while catching 14-of-15 targets for 154 yards.
McCaffrey’s status will be one worth monitoring following Thursday night’s game. But given how quickly the star running back was ruled out, Panthers fans are understandably worried.