CHARLOTTE — On Monday night, Christian McCaffrey will go through warm-ups ahead of a big game, as he has 113 times before. He'll jog through drills, catch balls, and lace up his cleats. But on Monday night, under the prime time lights, those cleats will be a tether to his past.

As part of the NFL's My Cause, My Cleats initiative, McCaffrey will don cleats that promote his organization, The Logan Project, a foundation that helps supply gaming systems for children's hospitals around the country.

The motto for McCaffrey's foundation concludes, "The source of inspiration for the effort is Logan Hale, a Christian McCaffrey and Carolina Panthers fan who lost his battle with childhood cancer in late 2021."

So, on Monday night, in a game that has developed playoff implications, McCaffrey, the San Francisco 49ers star running back, will put on those cleats that are intricately tied to his time as a Panther, then he will jog on the field to take on his former team for the first time since being traded in 2022.

"The Logan Project was started in Charlotte, and Levine's Children's Hospital was the first hospital that we put gaming consoles in for the kids," McCaffrey said this week of the full-circle moment. "And so it was, it definitely means a lot. I'm excited to represent Logan and his legacy."

But first, on Thursday, McCaffrey sat down at a desk in Santa Clara and called in to talk to local reporters back in Charlotte, reflecting on his career with the Panthers, his relationship with former teammates, and the legacy he hoped to have left in the Carolina locker room.

"Oh man, I have a lot of gratitude for the whole organization," McCaffrey began. "I have so many great memories, I get to say I have lifelong friends that I played with in the NFL, and a lot of them come from my time with the Panthers, and I'm forever grateful for that."

It will also be a chance for those in the Panthers' uniforms to reunite with a player they still consider among the best, and someone who helped lay the foundation on which they are now building.

"Not just a great player, (but) one of the best guys I've seen lace them up," said a reflective Jaycee Horn of McCaffrey earlier this week. "Just all he did for this organization, the type of leader he was for me as a young player coming in here, just everything—he did everything right; pre-practice, post-practice, did everything right, taking care of his body, his diet. As a young guy, it meant a lot watching him while I was rising here."

Chuba Hubbard got to see that impact up close, as the two shared a running back room, sat near each other in the locker room, and spent a lot of time together in training, the young Hubbard watching and learning from the back who taught him how to attack the league.

"He's a special player, Hall of Famer for sure," praised Hubbard. "But, just seeing his work ethic and seeing someone get the ball over and over and over and produce over and over consistently at a high level against anyone and everyone, it's special to see that. So, Christian knows I have a lot of respect for him. He's a great player and also a great friend, so I'll always be rooting for him.

"I think his presence impacted Carolina and the Panthers as a whole, and it always will. He's one of the greatest players I've ever been with, the greatest running back in my opinion."

When McCaffrey was first traded three years ago, the Panthers were in the first phase of a rebuild, oft the most painful part of the process. Matt Rhule had recently been let go, and McCaffrey had heard rumors that he might be traded as the team looked to gather assets for the future.

He got the call late one Thursday night in October. By early the next morning, he was on a plane. A few guys were around when the call came and had a chance to speak to the running back—"Honestly, it was, I was shocked, but I talked to Christian," recalled Derrick Brown this week. "Got a chance to talk to him before he left. So, texted him and wished him the best,"—but there was little time to see everyone. His biggest regret, looking back, was not having enough time for one last lap around the locker room.

"One of the things I do, that makes me sad looking back, because I couldn't say bye to any of my teammates," McCaffrey admitted. "I wish I could have just said bye to them, but I was on a flight at 7:00 a.m. on Friday, so it was a quick turnaround."

But as Hubbard said, even if McCaffrey didn't have the opportunity to say farewell personally, his presence is still felt. For the man now on the other side of the country, it's a legacy he hoped to leave, but wasn't sure if he had. Hearing Hubbard's words on Thursday caused him to stop for a second, taken aback and needing to gather his words.

"That means a lot," nodded McCaffrey. "I always think what your teammates say about you is really important, and I just, I always want to be a really good teammate who plays extremely hard and does it the right way.

"I've been so fortunate to play with guys, when I came in, like the (Luke) Kuechly's and the Cam's (Newtons) and the (Greg) Olson's, Thomas Davis, Jonathan Stewart, guys like that who had such a big impact on me and was fortunate enough to learn from them and take things from all of their legacies and their careers and try to maintain myself, but try to take some stuff from them and carry it on into my future, the way that they had impacted me."

McCaffrey and his former teammates have kept up over the years, either through texts, league-wide NFL events, or his wedding last year, during which many Panthers attended.

"I've seen T-Mo ( Taylor Moton ) a few times now," shared McCaffrey. "I've talked to Chuba a little bit over the years, and continue to stay in touch with him. Briefly talked to Jaycee a little bit when I got to talk to him. And JJ Jansen, another guy who I was pretty close with when I was there."

He's also kept an eye on his former team, watching from afar, checking in on the guys he spent years with, and watching for the growth he always knew was there.

"What (the Panthers are) doing over there is, they're playing hard football, man. They're playing with a lot of juice and a lot of confidence, and I think it's, yeah, they're doing a great job. They really are.

"It's been so cool to see how good (Derrick Brown's) been, man. I mean, we all knew when he came in how good he was going to be, and he's exceeded all expectations. He's a hell of a player, plays with a high motor. Obviously, he has every talent under the sun, so to see him play with the intensity and urgency that he has with the skill set, he's a problem on any snap.

"(And Jaycee), he's somebody that, and I've said this to multiple people, but he doesn't get enough credit. I think he's one of the best corners that I've personally seen up close and in person. He's another guy that has everything you could ever want in a corner, but my favorite thing about him is his mindset and the energy and intensity he brings to the field. I mean, I don't have enough good things to say about Jaycee.

He'll face those latter two guys a lot on Sunday. After countless practices facing off against each other, Brown knows what to expect when facing his former teammate. And by that, we mean, he knows not to count on knowing what to expect.

"He's dynamic, right?" said Brown. "He blocks on the right side, gets wide open. I mean, he's got the speed to be able to get into the secondary. He's just definitely like a triple threat.

"His vision is insane. Definitely, you've seen me trying to chase him down and (he'd) go the opposite way. So I mean, I just think about that going into the game and knowing how good he is at that."

Added Horn, "Man, just his agility, quickness, his IQ, just is everything. He's a special back, and that's why I think he's going to be a gold jacket type of guy.

"I'm excited to play him; he's a hell of a player. I know he's going to be trying to get his get back, he's going to be running the ball hard, but we're ready for the challenge. It's going to be fun."

Football players are notoriously disciplined, with a single-minded focus that allows them to block out distractions. When Christian McCaffrey and the contingent in the Panthers' locker room say they'll focus only on the X's and O's component of Monday night, putting aside all emotions of playing against each other for the first time, you have to believe them.

But those moments outside the game will feel a little different. When McCaffrey puts on his cleats that represent a mission founded deep in the heart of Panthers' country, when Hubbard greets the man at midfield who taught him how to be a professional, when Jaycee Horn and Derrick Brown prepare to line up across from the running back that introduced them to the league.

And even after Christian McCaffrey finally gets his proper goodbye with his former team, Chuba Hubbard knows they'll part ways still linked.

"He's done great things in Carolina. The best back I've ever seen and been able to work with. So, regardless of all the other stuff, I know he has love for Carolina and he's going to play hard like he always does," said Hubbard.

"His impact on Carolina and the Panthers won't ever be forgotten. I know everyone in this locker room, and the organization knows that."