A full season and offseason in the NFL can make a big difference for any young player, but the payoff for Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey could be particularly bountiful this season.
During his rookie season in 2017, McCaffrey was only able to spend the last part of the spring workouts with his teammates because of an NCAA rule.
He couldn’t travel with quarterback Cam Newton and the Panthers receivers to Baltimore for their annual trip, a rite of passage that establishes camaraderie on the offense and builds trust. (Of course, Newton was also rehabilitating a surgically repaired shoulder and couldn’t throw much anyway.