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Christian McCaffrey will have an even bigger role in the Panthers' offense this season.

McCaffrey Cheap Customized Oakland Raiders Jerseys , the team's first-round draft pick in 2017, carried the ball 117 times for 435 yards and established a franchise rookie record with 80 receptions. He finished the season with seven touchdowns.

While McCaffrey led the Panthers in receptions, he'll be counted on to carry the ball more after the team parted ways with its all-time leading rusher Jonathan Stewart. Panthers two-time NFL Coach of the Year Ron Rivera believes McCaffrey is up to the task, saying he can be a running back who carries the ball 200 times this season.

McCaffrey's durability has been questioned at times because his body build is more akin to a scat back than a power back.

He averaged just 3.7 yards per carry in 2017.

"Yeah, why not?" Rivera said of the prospect of a 200-carry season. "Everybody forgets that when he was (at Stanford) he carried the ball between the tackles more than anybody and touched the ball more than anybody. I don't see why not."

McCaffrey is all for it.

"Obviously anybody on the team wants the ball as much as possible," McCaffrey said. "That is football. You should want to compete. But we are here to win football games, so whatever that means and whatever that takes we're going to do."

McCaffrey, the son of three-time Super Bowl champion wide receiver Ed McCaffrey, likes what he's seen so far from new offensive coordinator Norv Turner, who has taken over for Mike Shula.

He feels "a lot more comfortable" in his second year with the Panthers Authentic Jerome Baker Jersey , even though he's learning a new offensive scheme. But he wouldn't discuss what will be different about his workload this year or in what different ways he will be used under Turner for competitive reasons.

"However they want to use me, that is where I will be," McCaffrey said. "I think we have a lot of great talent and a lot of different weapons."

He won't be carrying the entire load in the backfield, of course.

The Panthers added depth at running back signing 2017 1,000-yard rusher C.J. Anderson, who played in Denver and helped the Broncos beat Carolina in the Super Bowl in 2015. Carolina is also expecting some added help from Cameron Artis-Payne and Kenjon Barner.

And don't forget, it was quarterback Cam Newton who led the team with 754 yards rushing and six touchdowns last season.

The 21-year-old McCaffrey enters the season with a new perspective after a "traumatic experience" earlier this summer.

McCaffrey, his brothers and some friends were in Colorado when they saw an elderly man fall off a cliff while hiking with his 13-year-old grandson. McCaffrey called 911 and one of his friends administered chest compressions.

McCaffrey said paramedics arrived at the scene in about 11 minutes. The 72-year-old Dan Smoker Sr. survived the fall and McCaffrey has developed a friendship with him and his family. He even plans to invite the Smokers to a Panthers home game this season.

"When you see something like that, you have a better appreciation for life and take every moment in," McCaffrey said. "We had a decompression moment after that. You look at life and realize it can be gone in any split second."

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will open the season without quarterback Jameis Winston Dallas Goedert Youth Jersey , who has been suspended three games for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy.

Winston said in a statement released on Facebook that the NFL informed him of their decision on Thursday. The discipline stems from the league's investigation of an accusation that the 2013 Heisman Trophy winner groped a female Uber driver during a ride the quarterback took in Arizona, where Winston was attending a charity event in March 2016.

The driver did not file a criminal or civil complaint, however she reported the incident to Uber. The NFL learned of the allegation, when it was reported publicly last November.

"The league promptly initiated a comprehensive investigation that included interviews with several persons, including the driver, Winston and others with relevant information," the NFL said in a statement announcing the suspension. "The league also examined an extensive amount of other evidence, including telephone records, business records, data from electronic devices and other communications."

The Bucs drafted Winston No. 1 overall in 2015 Cheap Customized Kansas City Chiefs Jerseys , despite questions about the young quarterback's behavior during his college career at Florida State.

Winston, 24, was accused of raping a fellow student at FSU, but was never charged. The university settled a Title IX lawsuit over its handling of the allegations with Winston's accuser, Erica Kinsman, in January 2016 for $1.7 million.

Winston said in his statement Thursday that "in the past 2陆 years my life has been filled with experiences, opportunities and events that have helped me grow, mature and learn." Winston added that he has eliminated alcohol from his life.

Winston, who's thrown for 11,636 yards and 69 touchdowns in three NFL seasons Youth Jonathan Cooper Jersey , has started 45 of the Bucs' past 48 games. He missed three games last season with a shoulder injury and the Bucs finished 5-11, missing the playoffs for the 10th straight season.

He will miss the Bucs' season opener at New Orleans on Sept. 9, as well as homes games against defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. He will be eligible to return to the team on Sept. 25, the day after Tampa Bay plays the Steelers.

The league said Winston is also required to have a clinical evaluation and cooperate in any recommended program of therapeutic intervention.

"All members of our organization are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with the personal conduct policy of the NFL," the Bucs said in a statement. "We are disappointed that Jameis put himself in a position that has been found to violate the policy and accept today's decision by the commissioner."

The suspension will cost Winston $124,411 of his base salary of $705,000 for the upcoming season. The quarterback is set to earn $20.9 million in 2019.

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