CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey didn’t hesitate.

Asked in January if there would be any benefit to him playing more in the slot to cut down on injuries that have sidelined him for 23 games the past two seasons, he deadpanned, “No.’’

Then there was silence.

That question hadn’t been answered by the staff since coach Matt Rhule and general manager Scott Fitterer worked to revamp the offense around new offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo. The question seemed more pertinent after former Tennessee Titans back D’Onta Foreman signed with the Panthers this offseason.

Foreman is more of a power back, and McAdoo wants a more physical running game.

Rhule finally answered the question Tuesday at the NFL owners meeting in South Florida, even though the idea of putting McCaffrey in the slot more has been kicked around Bank of America Stadium.

“We can always move him around and utilize him, but at the end of the day, he’s a back,’’ Rhule said. “You can do a lot of things with Christian, but to take him out of the backfield, to me, is taking him out of what he does best. We’ll keep him at tailback.’’

The Panthers still have questions on offense, the biggest being who is going to play quarterback.

Rhule insists the team isn’t “locked in’’ on selecting a quarterback with the sixth pick of the draft in late April, even though he believes either Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett, Liberty’s Malik Willis or Ole Miss' Matt Corral will be among the top 10 players taken.

He insists Carolina still is monitoring the trade market for a quarterback, even though league sources have told ESPN.com the team currently isn’t interested in Baker Mayfield (Cleveland Browns) or Jimmy Garoppolo (San Francisco 49ers), the top two available.

He insists Sam Darnold will play “significantly improved football’’ and take a “huge step’’ in 2022, even though Darnold statistically has ranked among the worst quarterbacks in the league through his first four seasons.

Stay tuned on all that.

But Rhule is locked in on leaving McCaffrey at running back.

That doesn’t mean McCaffrey’s role won’t change some under McAdoo, who wants to develop a scheme to take the pressure off the quarterback having to be a star.

The Panthers have also signed former Baltimore Ravens center Bradley Bozeman and former Los Angeles Rams guard Austin Corbett. Both thrive on run blocking.

They also signed Foreman (6-foot-1, 236 pounds) because of the production he showed last season with the Titans when Derrick Henry was injured.

Rhule also has a lot of confidence in second-year back Chuba Hubbard, drafted in the fourth round last season because of the explosiveness he showed at Oklahoma State.

So you could see more two-back sets in which McCaffrey or one of the other backs shifts to another position.

You also could see an attempt to lighten McCaffrey’s load so the former Stanford star doesn’t have the 403 touches and 429 snaps he did in 2019 when he became the third player in NFL history to have 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season.

The goal is to keep McCaffrey (5-11, 205 pounds) healthy, something Rhule seldom has seen since he was hired in 2020. McCaffrey is doing his part by “tempering’’ his offseason program to put less stress on his body year-round.

“When he’s out there, he’s dynamic,’’ Rhule said. “He has such an impact on the guys around him. You look at the injuries, they’ve all been kind of freak injuries. It’s not been like an ACL or something that has a long-term effect.’’

A healthy McCaffrey will help, no matter who is playing quarterback. Darnold won his first three starts last season before McCaffrey was injured the first time and was 3-1 with him on the season.

He was 1-6 without McCaffrey.

“Sam needs to focus on playing as good as he can,’’ Rhule said. “This is a big year for him. I believe he will play well.’’

Two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning, who played in McAdoo’s system for four years toward the end of his career, agreed. He told ESPN.com earlier this year that McAdoo’s offense is “very quarterback friendly’’ in terms of putting the tools around that player to succeed.

A healthy McCaffrey is one of those tools.

Whether Foreman can do a better job than McCaffrey of making the Panthers a better power or short-yardage running team remains to be seen.

According to ESPN Stats & Information, McCaffrey and Foreman were identical last season in terms of converting third or fourth down with 3 yards or less to go.

Both converted five of seven attempts.

But what Foreman does is afford McAdoo the luxury of giving McCaffrey breaks on those runs and other plays without losing efficiency. It also affords him the luxury of sliding McCaffrey into the slot.

McCaffrey lined up in the slot only once on 141 snaps in 2021 and twice on 78 snaps in 2020. The most he has lined up in the slot was 2019, when he was there for 16 snaps in 16 games.

So don’t expect a big change there.

As Rhule said, McCaffrey is a back, and that’s where he’s best utilized despite his abilities as a receiver.

Rhule and McCaffrey are locked into that.