Getty Kansas City Chiefs running back Christian McCaffery.
The Carolina Panthers were the first NFL team this season to fire their head coach, as they parted ways with Matt Rhule on Monday, October 10. Rhule signed a seven-year, $62 million contract with the Panthers in 2020 to become their head coach. Since then, he has accumulated an 11-27 record with Carolina. This season, the Panthers were 1-4 under Rhule.
Along with the firing of Rhule, Carolina also fired defensive coordinator Phil Snow, according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport. The team also announced that defensive pass game coordinator/secondary coach Steve Wilks will be the interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
Sources: #Panthers defensive coordinator Phil Snow has been fired. So not just Matt Rhule, but his defensive coordinator, as well.
With the Panthers amid a season in which they have one win and an interim head coach, there’s the possibility that the organization might be interested in selling assets to kickstart a rebuild. That’s why one former NFL player is calling for the Kansas City Chiefs to make a trade for one of Carolina’s star players.
MJD Urges Chiefs to Trade for Panthers’ RB1
Former All-Pro running back and now an analyst for NFL Network, Maurice Jones-Drew, named four teams that should inquire about Panthers running back Christian McCaffery ahead of the November 1 NFL trade deadline. One of the teams he named was the Chiefs.
“The Chiefs have the top-ranked scoring offense despite parting with Tyreek Hill in the offseason, but McCaffrey could be the truly explosive element the attack has been missing,” Jones-Drew wrote on October 13. “Sure, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Isiah Pacheco and Jerick McKinnon are getting the job done, combining for 7 scrimmage TDs in 5 games, but just imagine McCaffrey in the backfield.
“With McCaffrey lining up behind Patrick Mahomes, defenses would be forced to honor the run game, making Andy Reid’s offense that much more difficult to stop. The Chiefs’ 18th-ranked run game would benefit from adding another versatile runner and their top-five passing attack would welcome another elusive playmaker who can win matchups out of the backfield, in the slot or out wide.”
Could Chiefs Pull Off Trade for CMC?
The biggest challenge Kansas City would have to solve to trade for McCaffery is cash.
In April of 2020, Carolina gave McCaffery a four-year, $64 million contract extension. In 2021, McCaffery is on the books with an $8.7 million cap hit, per Over The Cap. After this season, he is on the books for the next three seasons with cap hits of $19.5 million, $19.5 million, and $15.5 million respectively.
The Chiefs currently only have $568,222 in available cap space this season, per the NFLPA’s Public Salary Cap Report. That would make it very difficult for Kansas City to fit in a contract like McCaffery’s. But it’s not impossible.
McCaffery’s contract includes a potential opt-out in 2023, which means any team that traded for him could have him on just a one-year deal. So, if Kansas City traded for him and moved his money around to lower his cap number for 2022, they could make it financially possible to keep him for at least one season. At that point, the team would then have to work on a new extension with McCaffery, as it would be a waste to only keep him for one season based on the capital they would likely have to sacrifice to acquire him.