In a late-season game that pits 4-8 Carolina against the 4-8 Broncos this Sunday, thank goodness for Christian McCaffrey.
One of four sons raised by former Broncos’ receiver great Ed McCaffrey (and his wife Lisa) and a running back who was so good while playing for Valor Christian High School in Highlands Ranch it was flat unfair, McCaffrey returns from a separated shoulder injury just in time for his Panthers to host his hometown team Sunday for the first time in his four-year NFL career.
"Pretty surreal in a way to be playing against my dad’s former team," McCaffrey said in a Zoom conference with members of the Carolina and Denver media Monday. "Kind of makes things go full circle."
True story. Had McCaffrey fell past Carolina's No. 8 overall pick in the 2017 draft, Broncos general manager John Elway was going to trade his way up from No. 20 to go get his former teammate's kid. But the Panthers couldn't resist the every-down-after-down rusher and receiver and the Broncos stayed at No. 20 to select left tackle Garett Bolles.
Worked out for both teams.
It’s probably no coincidence that McCaffrey decided Monday was the best day to get his nostalgic childhood out of the way so he could use the rest of the week to focus on his comeback game. Record contract aside, this has been the most difficult season of his life. Coming off the ultimate, dual-purpose running back season of nearly 1,400 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving in 2019, McCaffrey this year has missed six games with a high ankle sprain, then three more with a separated shoulder.
His dad was more accustomed to bouncing back from injuries. As Ed McCaffrey was playing for the Broncos from 1995-2003 – he had 101 catches in 20012 -- it appears his sons Max, Christian and Dylan had the run of the place. (Youngest son Luke, now playing quarterback at Nebraska, wasn’t born until 2001.)
"Growing up with my dad playing for the Broncos that was when I started to see what football meant to me," said Christian, who was born in 1996 and was a toddler when the Broncos won their first two Super Bowls in January 1998 and 1999. "Just watching him and being able to run around on the field after games. Seeing them win two Super Bowls -- even when I was 2 or 3 years old I knew my dad loved football and watching highlights of him is very special to me and the rest of our family.
"Just seeing how he played and I think he definitely did the Broncos organization right. And watching those teams from play back in the day I’d say the same thing for all those guys. They made it fun to watch, they made it fun growing up as a kid. Every single one of those guys in the locker room were also so nice to myself and my brothers. Definitely a lot of cool memories."
Christian said he gets backs home to Colorado every offseason to visit with family and friends.
"That’s where I grew up, it’s home for me and being there over COVID with my brothers and with my family was an absolute blast," he said.
His younger brother Dylan, a quarterback at Valor Christian, is in the process of transferring from Michigan. Will he wind up playing coach and father Ed at Northern Colorado? Christian hopes so.
"I have no idea," Christian said. "I think he has to finish school first before he can do the portal deal and goes through the whole recruiting process again. I think that would be really cool, though, in my personal opinion to have the whole McCaffrey crew together in one place so I think that would be awesome."
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