“Sometimes, bad stuff happens” – Christian McCaffrey addresses coaching situation with contenders circling for Panthers star
The Carolina Panthers fired head coach Matt Rhule after a 37-15 loss to the San Francisco 49ers at home. It was another embarrassing game for a team that came into the season with the expectation of having a shot at a Wild Card spot. Following the firing, many Panthers players spoke out. Christian McCaffrey, who has suddenly become the target of a lot of trade rumors, admitted that it was bad. Here's what he said to ESPN:
“Sometimes, bad stuff happens, but the earth keeps spinning. You’ve got to keep rolling. We’ve got to win a lot of ballgames here.”
With incumbent quarterback Baker Mayfield injured and backup Sam Darnold not yet off the IR, P.J. Walker is poised to start. Rhule's dismissal came as no surprise and it elevated defensive assistant Steve Wilks to interim head coach. With a backup quarterback and an interim head coach, it doesn't look like the Panthers are going to be winning many football games in the coming weeks.
As a result, any and all players that the Panthers have are now going to be the subject of trade rumors until the deadline passes.
NFL Trade Rumors: Are the Carolina Panthers going to clean house?
Despite their record, Carolina does have good players. The wide receiver duo of D.J. Moore and Robbie Anderson is solid. McCaffrey is an elite running back. They've got good pieces on the defensive end. As a result, those pieces are now of interest to contending teams. The Buffalo Bills reportedly called about McCaffrey this offseason and again after Rhule's firing. He is the biggest trade target, which makes sense. When healthy, he's one of the most electric players on the field.
If he were on a team where he wasn't the defense's only focus, he would no doubt excel, so a team like the Bills is a tantalizing landing spot for him. He also makes quite a lot of money. His contract extension was a lot for a running back, so if Carolina wants to rebuild, he'd be the first player they would probably trade.
Moore makes less than McCaffrey and is tied to the team until 2025, so a trade is less likely. Plus, wide receivers are analytically more important than running backs these days. The same goes for edge rushers, a position at which they have a bright young talent in Brian Burns. A trade for him is also unlikely. Almost every other player is probably available with a few exceptions, so expect teams to call Carolina a lot in the coming weeks.
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