Carolina designated McCaffrey (hamstring) to return from injured reserve Wednesday, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.
As a result, the Panthers have a 21-day window in which to activate McCaffrey or leave him on IR. Assuming McCaffrey experiences no setbacks in practice the next three days, the Panthers could have the star running back available Sunday against the Patriots, but Carolina won't have to officially activate him until Saturday if they intend to have him play this week. Chuba Hubbard has been filling in as the team's lead back in McCaffrey's absence, but he would presumably move into a complementary role in the event that McCaffrey is cleared for the Week 9 matchup.