Panthers head coach Matt Rhule said on Thursday that he doesn’t expect running back Christian McCaffrey to play against the Broncos on Sunday and nothing changed on that front Friday.
The Panthers have listed McCaffrey as doubtful on their final injury report of the week. While they stopped short of officially ruling him out, Rhule didn’t leave any wiggle room when talking about McCaffrey missing this game.
“I’m sure as a young kid, growing up watching the Denver Broncos and watching his dad, he wanted to play in this game,” Rhule said, via Joseph Person of TheAthletic.com. “But it just wasn’t meant to be.”
Safety Tre Boston is listed as questionable with a hamstring injury and offensive lineman Dennis Daley has been ruled out with a concussion. Defensive tackle Derrick Brown, wide receiver Curtis Samuel, and linebacker Shaq Thompson should play after being activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list ahead of Friday’s practice.