“Wasn’t a Horrible Move” — Here’s Why the Carolina Panthers Traded Christian McCaffrey

High-profile trades that leave fans scratching their heads aren't exactly uncommon in sports. Take Luka Doncic's trade from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers, for instance. Not only were fans upset by the deal, but so were members of the Texas-based basketball squad's management, along with other players on the team.

The 2022-2023 NFL season also saw a trade that stunned pigskin lovers across the country: when the Carolina Panthers traded running back Christian McCaffrey, sending him to the San Francisco 49ers.

But why did the Charlotte ball club pull the trigger on such a high-profile deal?

As Sporting News writes, "trades of superstars like CMC don't often happen in the middle of the season." But once one considers what the Panthers got in return for such a trade, it's a bit easier to understand what their intentions for letting him go were.

After the October 20, 2022, deal went down, the Panthers received a 2023 second-round pick, third and fourth-round picks in 2023, and a fifth-round pick in 2024.

Taking into consideration what the Panthers received for giving McCaffrey away, it's clear that the Panthers were looking to "rebuild" their franchise in the coming years.

Sporting News went on to write that at the time of the trade, they "were 1-5 and had just fired head coach Matt Rhule." So it was evident that management was going for a complete overhaul. But that doesn't mean CMC's team members weren't taken aback by the news.

A 2025 write-up by ESPN's David Newton reported that the "Panthers' locker room was in shock on Oct. 20, 2022 when [the] star running back ... was traded."

Furthermore, Newton went on to write that even years later, "some wonder[ed] why the organization moved its best player."

But just as Sporting News wrote, a single player can only do so much to help an NFL team's fortunes. And in spite of CMC's best efforts, the squad still held a losing record, which meant any chances of turning the club into a championship team just weren't panning out.

Prior to moving McCaffrey to the 49ers, trade deals with the Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills were also entertained.

So how did the trade affect the Panthers' and 49ers' fortunes?

As ESPN put it, the Panthers saw a near immediate uptick in performance.

The squad's interim coach, Steve Wilks, helped lead the team to several key victories, putting the playoffs within reach. They managed to finish off the 2022-2023 season with a 7-10 record and went 6-6 over their next games.

Despite Wilks' success, the Panthers opted to put Frank Reich as the team's head coach in the hopes of developing a young quarterback into a scoring wunderkind. But that plan didn't pan out, and the Panthers suffered considerably.

The Panthers only tasted victory once in 11 games, and Reich was fired. And as of this writing, McCaffrey's 49ers hold a better record than the Carolina Panthers, even though they're in third place in the NFC West (8-4), while the Panthers sit at the number two spot in the South (6-6).

One of the Panthers' losses came courtesy of the 49ers on November 24, 2025, in a game where McCaffrey put up big numbers against his former team. He managed to gain 142 yards from scrimmage and secured a touchdown for the Bay Area team.

McCaffrey said that while "it's always good to see" former teammates before and after the game, the Panthers now are almost an entirely new ball club. Which means that it was "really just business once the ball was snapped."

The 49ers beat the Panthers 20-0, securing their eighth win for the 2025-2026 season.

According to Fox Sports, San Francisco is ranked 12th in odds to win the Super Bowl.