Pounding Panthers Chronicle

In the late hours of Thursday evening while the NFL was wrapping up its weekly edition of Thursday Night Football. The Arizona Cardinals was in the process of putting the final touches on what was a high-scoring affair against the New Orleans Saints. The actions of Thursday night are likely to create a massive ripple effect throughout the NFC West division. While the Cardinals were busy acquiring their third victory on the season it was a fellow divisional foe that was acquiring a coveted asset on the trade market. Late Thursday evening, after initially being reported by Adam Schefter of ESPN, news broke that Carolina Panthers’ running back Christian McCaffrey was being traded to the San Fransico 49ers, and in return the Panthers are receiving multiple Day-2 draft picks. In total the Panthers will be getting three picks in the upcoming 2023 draft, a second-round pick, third-round pick, fourth-round pick, and a fifth-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft. This announcement comes as no surprise though it is a bit disheartening to admit that McCaffrey is far better off with a team like the 49ers. While it has been reported that there will not be a full blow fire-sale taking place in Carolina it is clear that there are players that are being shopped around. After the news broke that the Panthers had traded McCaffrey, a tweet by Jeremy Fowler of ESPN gave hope to fans that this team would not be stripped down to the bare bones. Fowler said in his tweet that the Panthers view DJ Moore as a foundational piece, and that a trade would be tough to execute. There was no mention as to players like Brian Burns who has been rumored to be available as well. The McCaffrey trade comes on the heels of a work-week that opened with the Panthers trading frustrated wide receiver Robbie Anderson to the Arizona Cardinals on Monday. In the span of less than five days the Panthers have acquired six draft picks over the next three NFL drafts, with the majority of those picks coming in next year’s draft hosted from Kansas City. The Anderson trade may not appear sexy on paper but one thing that should not be overlooked is these players being traded will no longer be a cap hit. A major hurdle this team was facing was the upcoming salary-cap hell that they have found themselves in. While there is likely to be some residual lingering from the contracts of the traded players; it is nothing compared to the hit if the players were still with the team. This is a somewhat vail silver-lining to the fact that CMC will no longer be a Panthers’ player. The first-round selection by the Panthers in the 2017 draft, Christian McCaffrey was touted for being just as lethal in the passing game as he was in the running game. In 2019 McCaffrey led the NFL in yards from scrimmage with 2,392, as he would log a career-best 1,387 rushing yards as well as eclipsing the 1,000 yards mark in receiving yards. It was after this remarkable season that McCaffrey would gone on to sign what is his current contract and one of the reasons why it was highly unlikely that CMC would remain with the team. McCaffrey is currently fourth in the standings of yards from scrimmage 607, the three names above him, Saquon Barkley (771), Tyreek Hill (719), and Nick Chubb (700). This is by no means bad company to have, and evident just how valuable a player like McCaffrey is considered by other teams. The lofty price tag that comes with CMC is high, some may argue too high for a running back, but regardless the conversation is not a question of is CMC talented. It has been obvious that McCaffrey has been expected to produce diamonds from mud in his time in Carolina. While it will be an oddity at first for Panthers’ fans to see McCaffrey wearing the red and gold of the 49ers this will be a homecoming of sorts for the former Standford running back. It was his time at Standford where McCaffrey began to show what people could expect to come on NFL Sundays. From the perspective of the 49ers, I can ensure that head coach Kyle Shannahan while be very excited to integrate McCaffrey into the offensive schemes in San Fransico. McCaffrey was never displayed in a wide receiver role much, but his route running abilities have far surpassed their billing. The San Fransico 49ers will in the following weeks be debuting the two most dynamic players in the passing game outside of maybe Tyreek Hill in Miami. After acquiring Christian McCaffrey, it is difficult to not envision the 49ers as the frontrunners to win the division in the NFC West. The decision-making abilities of McCaffrey’s new quarterback does appear to be an upgrade, while Jimmy Garoppolo is not a top-tier quarterback in the NFL, it is still no less an upgrade from the frequent carousal at the position in Carolina. I would imagine that CMC will thrive within the blocking schemes utilized in San Fransico as this has been a specialty of the head coach Shannahan. Given the construction the 49ers roster, which has multiple players that could be seen as the hybrid variety, Kyle Juszczyk, Debo Samuels, and now Christian McCaffrey. Not to mention how scary it is that George Kittle is the third most-dangerous player on the offense. This will not only create matchup nightmares opposing defenses; it will weigh heavily in disguising the offensive packages the 49ers are using. While the sour taste of this departure may never be anything but just that, this was likely the best outcome for both parties, the Panthers receive draft capital and cap relief from McCaffrey’s contract, and CMC gets the opportunity to have a shot at the playoffs and maybe more. The trade also signifies that Carolina is not only still rebuilding; it is difficult to say how far along this rebuild is. The project known as the Panthers rebuilding began back when Matt Rhule was first hired on, and not only did the 2023 season produce the end of the Rhule era it sacked the “Run CMC” era as well.