Christian McCaffrey Injury Update Crushes Fantasy Outlook in Week 8

Updated (9:50 a.m. EST, Thursday Oct. 29): Christian McCaffrey is not expected to be ready to suit up for the Carolina Panthers Week 8 Thursday Night Football matchup. He still hasn't been ruled out, but it's looking like Mike Davis will serve as Carolina's lead back again on Thursday night. McCaffrey appears to be close to a return, however, so he should be back in the lineup for Week 9.

#Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey (ankle) isn’t expected to be activated from injured reserve for tonight’s game against the #Falcons, per sources. He returned to practice Tuesday and Carolina hasn’t formally ruled him out. But it was a long shot all week and remains that way.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 29, 2020

It's looking like Christian McCaffrey fantasy managers are going to have to wait just a little bit longer. There was some hope the Carolina Panthers superstar running back could return in Week 8, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen.

McCaffrey is reportedly considered a 'long-shot' to suit up for his team's Week 8 game against the Atlanta Falcons, but he hasn't been ruled out quite yet.

#Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey is considered a long-shot to play Thursday vs. the #Falcons, source said, but they haven’t ruled him out and he’s pushing to play. He’ll work his way back into practice and see if he can make enough progress.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 26, 2020

Christian McCaffrey Fantasy Outlook

Reading the tea leaves, it's tough to see McCaffrey suiting up in this one. Carolina is facing a short week as it prepares for to take on the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday Night Football. On the bright side, though, he'll have about 10 days to get ready for Week 9, which feels like a logical point for him to return.

Assuming that happens, McCaffrey would be looking at a mouth-watering matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs. Entering Week 7, Kansas City checked in as the league's sixth-worst defense against the run, per Football Outsiders' DVOA metrics. A matchup between the McCaffrey-led Panthers' offense and the Chiefs would also likely be one of the highest-scoring games of the week.

If he's active in Week 9, he'd instantly be back in the conversation for the No. 1 overall player in fantasy, even if Mike Davis steals a few touches.

While it's looking more and more like CMC won't be back until Week 9, nothing is set in stone quite yet, so it'll be important to continue monitoring Carolina's practice reports throughout the week.

GET AN INSTANT DEPOSIT BONUS UP TO 500! We'll match 20% of your first deposit on FanDuel Fantasy Sports. Max bonus $500

Max Staley is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Max Staley also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username mstaley1212. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.