Christian McCaffrey wants to get on the field with his Carolina Panthers teammates. Bad. His coach, Ron Rivera, wants him there, too.
But an obscure NFL rule means McCaffrey, the teams No. 1 pick (No. 8 overall) out of Stanford, has to wait.
The rule says that a player can't participate in offseason workouts — other than rookie mini-camp — until their school year ends. Stanford's school year doesn't end until June 14, so McCaffrey will miss one day of the mandatory three-day mini camp, according to ESPN.
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Even more strange — McCaffrey didn't even enroll in school this quarter, so he's being forced to sit out even though he's not registered in classes.
McCaffrey and Rivera criticized the rule.
"It sucks," McCaffrey told Panthers.com, the team's officials website. "it's really tough."
His coach, Rivera, told ESPN: "I just think if a young man on his own is not going to enroll, don't hold that against him. You don't know who you're going to get through the draft. If those young men decided on their own, then they're being punished for something that is their choice.
McCaffrey had a message for his fans:
