Christian McCaffrey will be gone till November.
The Panthers placed their star running back on injured reserve Saturday, sidelining him for at least three more games. The club also placed rookie guard Deonte Brown (knee) on IR.
McCaffrey had already been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Vikings after suffering a setback in practice this week.
Now he's not eligible to return until Week 9.
McCaffrey initially strained his hamstring during a Week 3 win over the Texans. The Panthers opted not to place the former All-Pro on IR then in hopes that he'd be available by this weekend. He was a limited participant in a handful of practices before sitting out the previous two days. His current designation means he'll have missed 18 of the first 24 games of the Matt Rhule era.
CMC's barrage of injuries succeed a 2019 campaign in which he registered league highs in touches (403) and scrimmage yards (2,392). Rookie Chuba Hubbard has started in McCaffrey's place the past two games. Last week, he ran for 101 yards and caught five passes for 33 yards.
Carolina (3-2) has lost both its games without McCaffrey thus far.