The Panthers have placed Christian McCaffrey on IR for the 2nd time this season, following his left-ankle injury in Sunday's loss to the Dolphins. That automatically knocks him out for the rest of the year, since it's his 2nd IR stint. It's a surprising development after NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported earlier Monday that the injury "doesn't seem major." We'll see about the specifics of the injury, but that won't really matter until we're evaluating McCaffrey for 2022 fantasy football drafts. For now, it's Chuba Hubbard back to the lead at the position in Carolina. He averaged 17.8 carries, 65.8 yards and 0.4 TDs per game rushing in 5 fill-in starts earlier this season, with another 2.6 receptions and 17.6 receiving yards per contest. The Panthers have since added RB Ameer Abdullah, who figures to steal some passing-down snaps from Hubbard the rest of the way. Abdullah has seen 4+ targets in 4 of the past 5 games, averaging 2.6 catches and 22.4 receiving yards per game over those 5 contests.

Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey's ankle injury "doesn't seem major," NFL Network's Ian Rapoport says. That's the vibe we've gotten since CMC exited in the 1st half of Sunday's blowout loss to the Dolphins. McCaffrey is scheduled for additional testing, so we should get another update on his status later today. He gets a well-timed Week 13 bye and seemingly has a chance to be ready for Week 14.

Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey rolled his left ankle near the end of the 1st half of Sunday's game vs. Miami. The team never officially announced an injury, but McCaffrey didn’t record a touch in the 2nd half. HC Matt Rhule said afterward that McCaffrey tried to re-enter but couldn’t get comfortable on the ankle. He now gets a Week 13 bye to heal up.

Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey "rolled his ankle" near the end of the 1st half of Sunday's game vs. Miami, according to Fox's Jen Hale. There's been no official announcement from the team yet, but CMC wasn't on the field to start the 2nd half. Stay tuned.

Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey (hamstring) is active for today’s game against the Patriots. It’ll be his first action since Week 3. HC Matt Rhule said earlier this week that it won’t “be a 40- to 50-play situation” for McCaffrey, so don’t expect the usual 20+ touches. But CMC is still probably a starter for most fantasy teams. See where he sits in the Week 9 RB Rankings.

ESPN's Adam Schefter included Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey (hamstring) in his list of players "expected to play" today. McCaffrey returned to practice this week and was placed on the active roster on Saturday. HC Matt Rhule said earlier in the week that "it would not be a 40- to 50-play situation" if CMC suits up. In other words, expect him to be limited to some extent vs. the Patriots today. See where McCaffrey sits in the Week 9 RB Rankings.

The Panthers have activated RB Christian McCaffrey (hamstring) from IR. Both Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network report that the team "hopes" McCaffrey will play Sunday against the Patriots. Make sure to check his game status Sunday morning if you're planning to play McCaffrey in your fantasy football lineup.

Panthers HC Matt Rhule is "hopeful" RB Christian McCaffrey (hamstring) can play vs. the Patriots this weekend. Rhule added that the team will wait until Saturday to make a final decision on CMC. He also said that if McCaffrey is active, "it would not be a 40- to 50-play situation," per The Athletic's Joe Person. Exactly how limited McCaffrey would be is unclear. We'll continue looking for updates on the situation.

Panthers HC Matt Rhule said RB Christian McCaffrey (hamstring) was "pretty limited" in Wednesday's practice. (Better than "extremely limited" Sam Darnold.). "We'll see how he looks tomorrow," Rhule added. At this point, CMC seems no better than 50/50 to return for this weekend's game vs. the Patriots.

Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey (hamstring) has been designated to return from IR. That makes him eligible to practice but doesn't guarantee that he'll be back for Sunday's game vs. the Patriots. ESPN's David Newton reported this past Sunday that McCaffrey is "on target" to return for that one, but we'll monitor his progress over the next few days.

Panthers HC Matt Rhule expects to get RB Christian McCaffrey (hamstring) back on the practice field on Wednesday. "Hopefully we can get Christian back soon. If it's not this week, hopefully it will be next week," Rhule said. We'll keep a close eye on McCaffrey's practice participation level this week. Don't go dropping RB Chuba Hubbard just yet, though.

ESPN's David Newton reports that Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey (hamstring) is "on target" to return for next weekend's game vs. the Patriots. Of course, we thought CMC was about to return multiple times since suffering this hamstring injury back in Week 3. We'll see how he fares in practice this coming week.

The Panthers have placed RB Christian McCaffrey on IR. He had already been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Vikings. This move means he'll miss at least 2 more beyond that with the hamstring injury that knocked him out of the Week 3 win at Houston. Rookie Chuba Hubbard should be the lead back this week against Minnesota and for upside matchups at the Giants and Falcons the next 2 weeks. We'll see whether McCaffrey is ready to return for the Week 9 game against New England.

Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey (hamstring) is out for this weekend's game vs. the Vikings. It looks like he suffered a setback this week after missing practice on Thursday and Friday, but we'll look for further updates on his status. RB Chuba Hubbard gets another start on Sunday. He tallied 13 carries and 2 targets in negative game script in Week 4 and 24 carries and 6 targets with more positive script last week.

Update: HC Matt Rhule claimed Friday that McCaffrey didn't suffer a setback and added that he's "hopeful" McCaffrey will be back for Week 7. We'll see.

Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey (hamstring) did not practice on Thursday. It's a downgrade after he put in 3 limited practices last week. Hopefully he didn't suffer a setback. We'll get another update on McCaffrey tomorrow, but at this point it seems more likely than not that he misses Sunday's game vs. the Vikings.

Panthers HC Matt Rhule said Wednesday that RB Christian McCaffrey (hamstring) is “probably 50-50” to play Sunday vs. Minnesota. CMC was limited in practice today. If he returns, it’ll end up being just a 2-game absence for the 25-year-old. Last week in his place, rookie Chuba Hubbard rushed 24 times for 101 yards, adding 5 catches on 6 targets. He’ll remain a plug-in RB2 if McCaffrey sits.

Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey (hamstring) is inactive for today’s vs. the Eagles. He put in 3 limited practices this week and seemingly has a good shot to return for Week 6. Chuba Hubbard gets another game as Carolina’s lead back but ceded pass-catching work to RB Rodney Smith last week.

The Panthers list RB Christian McCaffrey (hamstring) as doubtful for Sunday's game vs. the Eagles. McCaffrey practiced all week and is clearly making good progress in his rehab. But Carolina is wisely playing it safe with the stud back. Chuba Hubbard will again operate as the Panthers' lead back this weekend, but he lost passing-down work to RB Rodney Smith last week. The role leaves Hubbard as a lower-end RB2.