There is now growing uncertainty on whether star running back Christian McCaffrey will feature for the Carolina Panthers in their upcoming Week 6 home clash with the Minnesota Vikings.
As noted by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, McCaffrey missed the Panthers' scheduled practice session on Thursday due to his hamstring injury.
#Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey was officially listed as not participating in practice, which is not a good sign after being limited with a hamstring.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 14, 2021
McCaffrey suffered this injury during the Panthers’ Week 3 road matchup against the Houston Texans. The versatile running back strained his hamstring in the second quarter of the game and was subsequently ruled out for the remainder of the contest.
While he went on to miss Carolina's Week 4 road game against the Dallas Cowboys, there was initial optimism as to his potential availability for Week 5 against the Philadelphia Eagles. He was limited in practice all last week, but in the end, the Panthers coaching staff opted for the more conservative route and elected to rule him out for the game.
McCaffrey was limited in practice on Wednesday, but his absence on Thursday may suggest that there is still doubt on whether he is ready to return to in-game action.
Panthers head coach Matt Rhule did note on Wednesday that there is still optimism for McCaffrey’s possible availability against the Vikings.
“It'll probably go to Sunday,” Rhule said. “It'll be a game-time decision. He's still limited. It could go one way or another right now.”
Carolina has had other key talents step up in McCaffrey's absence. For one, running back Chuba Hubbard posted a 101 rushing yards game against the Eagles, although it was not enough to push the Panthers to a win.
Regardless of McCaffrey’s status for Week 6, Carolina has much work to do to avoid a third straight loss following its standout 3-0 start.
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