The Carolina Panthers have an immaculate 3-0 record on the season after defeating the New York Jets, New Orleans Saints and Houston Texans. However, not everything has been perfect with the team thus far into the 2021 season after they lost All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey to a significant hamstring injury in Week 3.

While McCaffrey is slated to miss some time, it appears as though the versatile running back may be back sooner rather than later. Granted his hamstring injury is not minor, but McCaffrey won't be placed on injured reserve by the Panthers, which is no doubt a great sign for Carolina.

According to a recent report from Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Panthers' decision “should allow [McCaffrey] to be back soon.”

After defeating the aforementioned trio of the Jets, Saints and Texans, the Panthers have already started looking ahead to Week 4 against the Dallas Cowboys. Of course, Christian McCaffrey won't be healthy enough to return in just one week, but perhaps a Week 5 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles could be in the cards considering a stint on injured reserve is now off the table.

The 25-year-old running back finally regained his health this past offseason after notably missing 13 regular season games in 2020 due to yet another severe injury-related setback. Through two-plus regular season appearances in 2021, McCaffrey has rushed for 201 yards and one touchdown on 52 carries. He has also tallied 16 receptions on 17 targets for another 163 yards, though McCaffrey has yet to score a receiving touchdown this time around.