Christian McCaffrey

Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule told reporters running back Christian McCaffrey is dealing with a quad injury and didn't provide answers as to whether he will be ready for Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals.

Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports provided more details:

McCaffrey, who is in his sixth NFL season, has amassed 300 total yards and one touchdown in three games. He's rushed for 4.9 yards per carry and caught 10 passes for 57 yards.

The former Stanford star dominated the NFL in 2018 and 2019, posting 4,357 yards and 32 touchdowns. He notably led the league with 2,392 total yards and 19 scores in 2019.

Unfortunately, injuries held him to just 10 games over the next two years. McCaffrey sat due to a high ankle sprain and then a shoulder injury in 2020. Another ankle issue ended his 2021 season prematurely.

The 26-year-old returned healthy for 2022 and played in his first two games, but he landed on the team's injury report in the week leading up to a Sept. 25 matchup with the New Orleans Saints. Officially, the designation was "not injury related—resting player/ankle."

Joseph Person of The Athletic reported that McCaffrey was limited with ankle stiffness, but the running back didn't appear concerned about his Week 3 status and ended up playing in the game.

If McCaffrey has to miss any time, the remainder of the Panthers' depth chart at running back consists of D'Onta Foreman, Chuba Hubbard and Raheem Blackshear.

Hubbard, a second-year pro out of Oklahoma State, took over for McCaffrey last year and had 612 rushing yards and five touchdowns. He rushed for 3.6 yards per carry.

Foreman also took over for an injured star RB last year in the Tennessee Titans' Derrick Henry (Jones fracture). He ended up with 699 total yards and three touchdowns alongside 4.3 yards per carry.

Blackshear is an undrafted rookie free agent out of Virginia Tech whom the Panthers signed off the Buffalo Bills' practice squad.

Christian McCaffrey is flirting with injury again. But this one doesn't appear likely to cost him playing time.

According to Joe Person of The Athletic, the superstar running back is dealing with a bum ankle but expected to play this week:

McCaffrey isn't sweating the injury:

The 26-year-old has seen each of his previous two seasons impacted by injury. In 2020, he played in just three games while dealing with a high-ankle sprain and shoulder issue. And he missed 10 games last season with an ankle problem that cut his campaign short.

It's been a major disappointment for a player who emerged as the NFL's most dynamic offensive playmaker in 2019, rushing for 1,387 yards and 15 touchdowns while adding 116 catches for 1,005 yards and another four scores.

When healthy, McCaffrey is the complete offensive weapon, and the Panthers rewarded him with a four-year, $64 million extension in April 2020. Since signing, though, he's only played in 10 of a possible 33 games.

In turn, the Panthers have only won five games in each of the past two years.

If McCaffrey is forced to miss time at some point, look for Chuba Hubbard or D'Onta Foreman to step into the starting role. Hubbard was serviceable in McCaffrey's absence last season, rushing for 514 yards and four touchdowns in 10 starts.