Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey sustained a “lower leg” injury early in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 31-17 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, coach Matt Rhule said.
McCaffrey appeared to injure his right ankle while completing a 7-yard touchdown run to trim Tampa Bay’s lead to 21-14. He walked off the field with a limp and remained on the sideline after getting his ankle taped.
McCaffrey, 24, had 18 rushes for 59 yards and two touchdowns and four receptions for 29 yards. Mike Davis served as the primary running back for the rest of the game for the Panthers (0-2).
Signed to a four-year, $64 million contract extension in the offseason, McCaffrey earned his first career Pro Bowl and First-Team All-Pro Selections after a sterling season in 2019.
McCaffrey became the third running back in league history to both run for at least 1,000 yards and gain 1,000 yards receiving in the same season. He finished with 1,387 rushing yards and 1,005 receiving yards to join Roger Craig (1985) and Marshall Faulk (1999) as members of the club.
McCaffrey recorded 116 catches in 2019, most ever by a running back. He set the previous mark of 107 in 2018.
