Carolina Panthers’ star running back Christian McCaffrey is close to playing football again. McCaffrey, who missed the last five games, was present on Monday’s practice and could be even ready to face Atlanta Falcons on Thursday Night Football.
McCaffrey was diagnosed with a high ankle sprain after Week 2 showdown against Tampa Bay Buccaneers and placed on injured reserve. Under the new rules, he can be activated from IR after three weeks, which opens a possibility for head coach Matt Rhule to include him in the roster against the Falcons.
Still, Rhule isn’t 100 percent sure this will be the case and would like to see McCaffrey undergo one full practice before making his final decision. The 24-year-old player didn’t take part in the drills on Monday and mostly observed his teammates from the sidelines.
“It’s a possibility,” said Rhule when asked about McCaffrey’s status for Thursday. “That’s sort of out of my hands. I’m hopeful that will happen.”
Although many believed that Carolina Panthers would fall apart with Christian McCaffrey being out, the team played surprisingly well. They won three straight since McCaffrey’s injury before losing two close games.
Still, having McCaffrey back could galvanize the Panthers’ squad even more and help them make a late surge in an attempt to get to playoffs. The former Stanford product is coming off a breakthrough 2019 season in which he rushed for 1,387 yards and 15 touchdowns while adding 116 receptions for 1,005 yards and four TDs.
