Christian McCaffrey

[Sled21]

Bills won't be signing CMC

Quote:Looking at each of the favorites, there are reasons for each to be cautious about adding McCaffrey to their roster.

The Buffalo Bills are a team that should be looking at winning over the next five years. With a prime Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs and an emerging Gabe Davis, they already have a core that has shown they can win big games. Their Week 6 win over the Kansas City Chiefs is the latest example.

While adding McCaffrey would obviously make them more explosive, it would also compromise their financial flexibility moving forward. They are already more than $8 million over the cap for 2023, per Spotrac.

That's when McCaffrey's cap hit goes from $8.8 million to $19.6 million. As Ian Rapoport of NFL Network noted, the team trading for McCaffrey would essentially inherit a three-year $36 million contract.

With Josh Allen's deal ballooning every year, finding the cap space for McCaffrey would be a burdensome challenge.

McCaffrey has the highest annual average value of any running back. Here are the others who comprise the top five: Alvin Kamara, Ezekiel Elliott, Dalvin Cook and Derrick Henry.

All four are supremely talented running backs. However, their teams are a combined 2-5 over the last two years in the postseason. A great running back can help you get to the playoffs but isn't necessarily moving the needle of playoff success.

Even for those who can afford to pick up the tab for McCaffrey, he's a dangerous long-term investment.

Six healthy games to start the 2022 season has seemingly made some forget that CMC was unable to stay on the field over the last two seasons. It wasn't as though McCaffrey suffered one major injury that he has finally recovered from.

McCaffrey missed time in the 2020 and 2021 campaigns with ankle, shoulder and knee injuries. Draft Sharks puts the likelihood that he suffers an injury for the season at 84 percent, or 10.2 percent per game.

That's when McCaffrey's cap hit goes from $8.8 million to $19.6 million. As Ian Rapoport of NFL Network noted, the team trading for McCaffrey would essentially inherit a three-year $36 million contract.

With Josh Allen's deal ballooning every year, finding the cap space for McCaffrey would be a burdensome challenge.

McCaffrey has the highest annual average value of any running back. Here are the others who comprise the top five: Alvin Kamara, Ezekiel Elliott, Dalvin Cook and Derrick Henry.

All four are supremely talented running backs. However, their teams are a combined 2-5 over the last two years in the postseason. A great running back can help you get to the playoffs but isn't necessarily moving the needle of playoff success.

Even for those who can afford to pick up the tab for McCaffrey, he's a dangerous long-term investment.

Six healthy games to start the 2022 season has seemingly made some forget that CMC was unable to stay on the field over the last two seasons. It wasn't as though McCaffrey suffered one major injury that he has finally recovered from.

McCaffrey missed time in the 2020 and 2021 campaigns with ankle, shoulder and knee injuries. Draft Sharks puts the likelihood that he suffers an injury for the season at 84 percent, or 10.2 percent per game.

So add to all of that these are the running backs who will be free agents at the end of this season....
Sayquan Barkley-NYG
Damien Harris-NE
Kareem Hunt- Cleveland
Josh Jacobs- LVR
David Mongomery- Chi
Miles Sanders-Phi
Tony Pollard- Dallas
Devin Singletary-Buffalo
Jamaal Williams-DET
Rashad Penny- Seattle

Not to mention the RB's in the upcoming draft, a team would be stupid to spend that kind of money on CMC with his injury history.