Should Christian McCaffrey be Off the Table in Any Trade Discussions?
This offseason the Carolina Panthers will be heavily involved on the trade market to potentially land a new starting quarterback following Teddy Bridgewater's poor showing in 2020.
Texans' QB Deshaun Watson has been discussed as an option for the Panthers to target and to pull off a deal with Houston, Carolina may be forced to part ways with a proven starter along with the No. 8 overall pick. Another possibility is for Carolina to trade up in the draft to select one of the top quarterbacks such as Zach Wilson or Justin Fields.
One name that may surface in trade talks is star running back Christian McCaffrey. If it comes down to dealing McCaffrey to land the quarterback for the next decade or so, do you do it?
It's a tough decision to make because running backs of McCaffrey's caliber just don't come around all the time. Then again, neither do franchise quarterbacks. If I'm Fitterer and parting with McCaffrey is the only way a deal gets made, you make the deal happen.
Obviously, the best-case scenario would be if Fitterer can find a way to keep McCaffrey and land the quarterback of the future but that should not be the expectation. Teams will be heavily interested in McCaffrey along with some other young promising players on the Panthers' roster. If anything, the Panthers should be more willing to deal McCaffrey than guys like Jeremy Chinn, Brian Burns, or Derrick Brown.
Historically, running backs have the shortest lifespan of any position in the NFL at 2.5 years per career. They take a pounding week after week, carry after carry, and we saw that this past season as McCaffrey missed 13 games due to multiple injuries. There's no telling if McCaffrey will remain injury-free but now is the time to pull the trigger on a deal while he still holds trade value. If he doesn't have the same production as he did in his first three years or continues to have the injury bug, the Panthers will not get the same return for him 1-2 years down the road.
If you look at the four teams that made the championship round of the playoffs, you'll see one common theme: elite quarterback play. If you look at the history of the Super Bowl, how many teams won because of their franchise running back vs having a franchise quarterback? Let's look at the last 11 years for a small example.
| Super Bowl Winner/Year | Starting QB | Leading Rusher for SB Winning Team |
|---|---|---|
Chiefs/2019 | Patrick Mahomes | Damien Williams |
Patriots/2018 | Tom Brady | Sony Michel |
Eagles/2017 | Nick Foles | LaGarrette Blount |
Patriots/2016 | Tom Brady | LaGarrette Blount |
Broncos/2015 | Peyton Manning | CJ. Anderson |
Patriots/2014 | Tom Brady | LaGarrette Blount |
Seahawks/2013 | Russell Wilson | Percy Harvin |
Ravens/2012 | Joe Flacco | Ray Rice |
Giants/2011 | Eli Manning | Ahmad Bradshaw |
Packers/2010 | Aaron Rodgers | James Starks |
Saints/2009 | Drew Brees | Pierre Thomas |
You'll notice right away that there are way more Hall of Fame QBs than there are RBs on that list. Having McCaffrey on the roster will help win you games but he should not be considered an "untouchable" player when it comes to trade talks surrounding a quarterback.
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