Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Norv Turner wants to cut down on running back Christian McCaffrey's carries in some way, as reported earlier this week. He touched the ball 326 times in 2018 and held a league-high 91.3% of the offensive snap share. A hefty workload for a second-year back. But, that doesn't worry head coach Ron Rivera like it does Turner. At the end of Wednesday's training camp, Rivera reaffirmed that; according to ESPN's David Newton,
We want the ball in Christian's hands. When he's on the field, there's no reason for him to be a decoy or swing guy. Why not figure out the best thing, and that's what Coach Norv [Turner] wants to do.
Turner did say he'd like other backs to get involved in the gameplan, limiting McCaffrey's carries, but he hasn't stated how. But, Rivera has,
We don't want to take away the touches. What we want to do is take away the excess plays so he won't be out there.
Using McCaffrey is, undeniably, in the Panthers' best interests. In his second year as a pro, he broke the NFL receptions record for a back with 107 and added 857 yards and six touchdowns to boot. He also added 1,098 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground on an average of 5.0 yards per carry, for good measure. The Stanford cleared the air about Turner's previous statement about limiting his workload, saying Turner “misspoke.”
In the end, McCaffrey will be a focal point of the offense and will carry the ball, as he told Newton,
He [Turner] told me he was going to give me the ball more.. That's music to my ears. I got excited.
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