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Thursday update: Christian McCaffrey hasn’t been activated for tonight’s game and won’t play. He is looking good for Kansas City next week though:
Panthers officially did not activate RB Christian McCaffrey off Injured Reserve by today’s 4 p.m. deadline, meaning he’s ineligible to play tonight vs. the Falcons. McCaffrey’s next chance to play will be Nov. 8 at Kansas City and the sense is that he’ll be ready then.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 29, 2020
And another Tuesday Update: Ok, it looks like McCaffrey was having a little fun wearing his red “injured” jersey for practice today, as he’s changed into normal practice gear and is stretching with the team:
Christian McCaffrey arrived in a red jersey, which denotes an injured player. Took it off and put on a regular jersey.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) October 27, 2020
With McCaffrey practicing and being designated for a return from I.R., it looks like he still has a chance to play this Thursday night against the Falcons.
Tuesday update: The Panthers have taken Christian McCaffrey off of injured reserve, per the team. The Panthers don’t have any obligation to play their star running back this week though. With no practice on Tuesday, he still seems likely to sit Week 8.
Tuesday AM update: Christian McCaffrey is not practicing on Tuesday after practicing on Monday, per David Newton. This all but guarantees the start back will be out this Thursday against the Falcons. It looks like we’ll get to fire up Mike Davis for at least one more fantasy outing.
Monday PM update: Coach Matt Rhule said “it’s a possibility” Christian McCaffrey could return Thursday night against the Falcons, per AP’s Steve Reed. Thankfully we’ll know before we need to set our lineups for Sunday.
Monday update: Christian McCaffrey returned to practice after a five week detour with an ankle injury, per ESPN’s Field Yates. He is a “long-shot” to return Thursday night against the Falcons, but there is a chance he works his way into the lineup.
Carolina Panthers all-world running back Christian McCaffrey appears to be a long-shot to be ready by Thursday night when the Panthers take on the Falcons, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. McCaffrey has been out since injuring his ankle in Week two and had a 4-6 week timetable for a return. We will be at the six-week mark on Sunday, but it looks like Thursday is going to be a shade too early.
His replacement, Mike Davis, had been playing lights out until a down game last week against the New Orleans Saints tough run defense. Davis has been very good, but McCaffrey is just a tier above him and would help their offense find the end zone more often when in the red zone.
The Panthers Week 9 opponent is Kansas City and it seems like McCaffrey will be raring to go by then if he doesn’t find a way to push into this Thursday night game. That matchup looks great for him, so get him in your lineups.