Mike Davis knew his fate playing behind Christian McCaffrey: ‘Why the f–k did the Panthers pick me?’
Former NFL running back Mike Davis said playing for the Panthers was a “blessing,” despite playing backup to Christian McCaffrey.
During an appearance on the “Raw Room” podcast, Davis, a teammate of McCaffrey’s in Carolina from 2019-21, called the star running back “selfish as hell” for how much playing time he received.
“I was like, damn, why the f–k did the Panthers pick me?” Davis recalled, referring to when Carolina claimed him off waivers from the Bears in November 2019. “They’ve got CMac. [He] doesn’t even come out the game. Why am I going there?
“Man, I get up there, he’s in the training room, and he has a bruise on his foot, so I’m thinking to myself, like, ‘Oh s–t, I might be playing this week’. Do you think I played that week? Nope. Damn, [he] played the whole game. I have never seen nobody play as much as CMac. He going to play every down. I’m not going to lie to you. I thought it was selfish as hell. I thought it was so selfish. I ain’t going to lie to you.
“Have you ever seen a motherf–ker get the ball six times in a row?” Davis added. “Yeah, you’re tired. I’m tired after four carries in a row. I watched this man get the ball and just lay on the motherf–ker. Come on, let me get that carry, bro!”
Davis laughed along with the hosts, as his remarks seemed lighthearted.
“Carolina was a blessing, man,” he added.
In 2019, McCaffrey led the league in touches from scrimmage with 403, rushing 287 times for 1,397 yards and eight touchdowns. He also caught 116 passes for 1,005 yards and four touchdowns.
He became just the third player in NFL history to record 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in the same season after Roger Craig in 1985 and Marshall Faulk in 1999.
Davis retired last February on his 31st birthday after playing for six NFL teams over eight seasons.
He tallied 2,052 rushing yards with 14 touchdowns and 1,066 receiving yards with four touchdowns in a career with San Francisco, Seattle, Carolina, Chicago, Atlanta and Baltimore.
McCaffrey dealt with injuries after the 2019 season that limited him in the seasons since.
The All-Pro running back hasn’t played just four games since the 49ers’ loss to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl in February 2024.
He was on injured reserve twice last season with Achilles tendinitis before a season-ending PCL injury in early December 2024.
The 49ers open the 2025 season against the Seahawks in Seattle on Sept. 7.