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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Multiple teams have called the Carolina Panthers about a possible trade for Pro Bowl running back Christian McCaffrey, a league source confirmed. Although the Panthers aren't looking to unload McCaffrey, multiple league sources said they would consider a deal if offered a first-round pick and another player without a big salary-cap number. McCaffrey, 25, has four years remaining on his contract, which was extended last offseason, making him the highest-paid running back in NFL history, with an average salary of $16 million. He has a 2022 salary-cap number of $14,309,500 that jumps to $17.7 million the next two seasons. The Panthers currently have $26,529,771 in cap space, according to league data. In 2019, McCaffrey became the third back in NFL history to have 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season. The other two were Roger Craig and Marshall Faulk. Since then, the eighth pick of the 2017 draft has played in only 10 of 33 games due to injuries. That has limited him to 667 yards rushing and 492 yards receiving during that span. He played in only seven games in 2021, missing the final five after suffering a left ankle injury in the first half of a Nov. 28 loss at Miami. He also suffered a hamstring injury during a Week 3 win at Houston that landed him on injured reserve. McCaffrey is on track to be 100 percent for the 2022 season. General manager Scott Fitterer said in January that he had "no intention at all" of trading McCaffrey but left the door open for him to be used more as a slot receiver this season. "There was a report back in November that we were actively trying to trade him, and I told him that was not true," Fitterer said after his exit interview with McCaffrey following the Panthers' 5-12 season. "What I did tell him was, 'Hey, listen, I'll take any call. Call and make any offer you want.'" Should the Panthers trade McCaffrey, the top back on the team would be 2021 fourth-round pick Chuba Hubbard. The former Oklahoma State star rushed for 612 yards and five touchdowns and had 26 catches for 174 yards and a touchdown as a rookie.
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