Christian McCaffrey: They say I’ll miss 4-6 weeks, I’m hoping a lot less

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Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey confirmed today that doctors tell him he’s going to miss four to six weeks with an ankle injury.

McCaffrey himself, however, is optimistic that he can miss less than that.

“They say four to six weeks,” McCaffrey said. “That’s a challenge to me. Hopefully I can get back a lot earlier. I’m going to attack this.”

If the Panthers put McCaffrey on injured reserve, he’d miss at least three weeks but could return after that thanks to the NFL’s special injured reserve rules for this season. It seems unlikely McCaffrey could be back any sooner than that, but he’s hoping that he can beat the 4-6 week projection.

16 responses to “Christian McCaffrey: They say I’ll miss 4-6 weeks, I’m hoping a lot less

  1. This is a great example of why I hope the NFL keeps the 2020 IR policy around with it’s 3 week minimum and unlimited call backs. What purpose does it really serve to keep him on the roster but inactive for the next 4-6 weeks in a normal year? Isn’t the current system better for everyone including the team, the fans, and the players —- especially the player who will get 4-6 game checks as a result of being on the roster while he is on IR?

  2. this is sad news but i cant say im suprised. it seems like theres no place for christians in the nfl anymore.

  3. Well, if anything, this season is providing a lot of reason to not further limit offseason activities or preseason games.

  4. With the amount of work this man has had in his short NFL career, I’m honestly surprised something like this hasn’t happened already.

  5. Don’t be surprised if this makes the team actually win more games. It forces you to utilize everyone else, and get the ball to the open man. It’s a natural tendency to force feed the ball to your best guy. I mean, McCaffrey had one of the greatest seasons ever by a RB last year, yet they were 5-11.

  6. This is the mentality that changes a injury that heals after six weeks of rest into a chronic condition that causes something worse, requires surgery, or prematurely ends a career.

    Oh well, he’s a competitor!

  7. You never know – there are a few guys who just heal in crazy/superhuman ways. Drew Brees (Rotator Cuff), Adrian Peterson (ACL) and Reggie White (Hamstring) come to mind. White was the only one who cut the recovery time to much chorter than it should have been, whilet Brees and Peterson performed better after what could have been career ending injuries.

  8. High ankle sprains are notorious for being prone to reaggravation. Sure, maybe he could beat the timeline, but it’s risky to do so. Just ask Leonard Fournette, Bryce Love or Odell Beckham, who all likely regretted their decisions to try to beat their initial timelines.

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