The week between Weeks 5 and 6 of the 2022 NFL season will go down as one of the most eventful (and possibly most impactful) in Carolina Panthers history. Owner David Tepper fired head coach Matt Rhule, and reports emerged about superstar running back Christian McCaffrey being unhappy with the organization. After these reports, the next news out of Charlotte was that the Buffalo Bills called the embattled franchise to enquire about a Christian McCaffrey trade. There have since been conflicting reports on whether this is true or not, but Bills Mafia should hope the rumors are correct. Here is the Bills trade offer the organization must make to bring McCaffrey to Western New York.

The Christian McCaffrey trade offer the Bills must make the Panthers

Shortly after Panthers owner David Tepper fired Matt Rhule after 38 games and an 11-27 record, sports reporter Dan Fetes from ABC 13 WHAM in Rochester, New York tweeted, “A source has confirmed to me that the Bills have reached out to the Panthers about running back Christian McCaffrey.”

Since then, national and local Carolina reporters have pushed back on the fact that the Panthers are having McCaffrey “trade talks,” but that doesn’t mean the team isn’t picking up the phone when teams call to inquire about a potential Christian McCaffrey trade.

The Bills are likely one of those teams as general manager Brandon Beane is an excellent GM, used to work for the Panthers organization, and needs to do everything he can to send the best Bills roster possible into the 2022 NFL Playoffs.

There are some downsides to a Bills trade for McCaffrey.

After playing all 16 games each year in his first three seasons, the former Stanford Cardinal played in just 10 games the next two seasons due to injury. Also, while any club that trades for McCaffery will only owe him $575,000 for the rest of this season, he has $36.2 million left on his contract over the next three seasons. That’s not guaranteed yet, but for the amount a team will have to give up to get McCaffrey, they will want more than a one-year rental.

That brings up to what a Bills trade for the Panther RB needs to look like.

There weren’t any earth-shattering RB trades this offseason, but there were several major wide receiver swaps. Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill, A.J. Brown, and Marquise “Hollywood” Brown all switched teams this offseason.

The going rate for one of these pass-catching difference-makers was a first-round pick alone, going up to a first- and second-rounder plus, depending on the level of the player.

The NFL no longer values RBs like WRs in the modern passing-heavy NFL. However, with McCaffrey’s skill set as a runner and a passer, he is one running back that still has a ton of value. In his two best healthy seasons, the Panthers star’s stat lines looked like this:

  • 2018: 219 carries, 1,098 rushing yards, 107 receptions, 867 receiving yards, 13 total TDs
  • 2019: 287 carries, 1,387 rushing yards, 116 receptions, 1,005 receiving yards, 19 total TDs

Those are incredible numbers and ones that would make any team better. And while McCaffery’s $12 million per year moving forward is a lot of money for a running back, it is also peanuts compared to the $20-$30 million per year deals the traded WRs above signed after they switched teams.

With all that in mind, the Bills should pursue a Christain McCaffrey trade, and here is what that deal should look like:

  • Bills get: Christian McCaffrey
  • Panthers get: 2023 Round 1 pick, 2023 Round 3 pick, RB James Cook

That is a lot to give up for Buffalo, but a good trade hurts a bit on both sides. The Panthers get a first-rounder and, essentially, a second-rounder, in rookie RB James Cook, plus a Day 3 pick to sweeten the deal.

If McCaffrey joined the Bills, he would be the No. 1 back and definitely the pass-catching back on third down. In this Bills trade, the team keeps backs Devin Singletary and Zack Moss — who can help take the late-game and short-yardage carries when needed — and gives up a promising but still raw prospect in Cook.

Cook is the Bills’ 2022 second-round pick (No. 63 overall) from Georgia. The brother of Minnesota Vikings RB Dalvin Cook is McCaffrey-like in a lot of ways. He is a versatile run/catch back who is so good with his hands that he can split out at WR. He also has a lot less wear on his tires than McCaffrey does and costs a lot less money.

It will stink for the Bills to give up on a prospect like James Cook, but he’s not ready to dominate in the NFL as McCaffrey can.

As for the Panthers, getting a running back prospect is nice, but the real gem here is another first-round pick. As we saw with several teams in last year’s draft, having multiple first-rounders is a key to turning around a franchise fast. This won't be the highest pick in the world, but a second Round 1 pick at any spot gives the Panthers a ton of value and flexibility.

Now that the Bills know what to do in order to trade for Christian McCaffrey, they have until the November 1 NFL trade deadline to do it.