Christian McCaffrey

Christian McCaffrey is going from playing for one of the NFL's worst offenses in the Carolina Panthers to playing for a much better one in San Francisco, and the new 49ers running back is excited for the opportunity.

"It’s one of the most explosive offenses in the league. ... How could you not wanna play here as an offensive weapon?" McCaffrey said, per 95.7 The Game. "I’m extremely fired up."

The Panthers traded McCaffrey to the 49ers on Thursday night in exchange for second, third and fourth-round picks in the 2023 NFL draft and a 2024 fifth-round pick.

When healthy, the 26-year-old is one of the best offensive threats in the NFL.

The eighth overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft, McCaffrey spent the first five-plus years of his career in Carolina. His best season came in 2019, when he rushed for 1,387 yards and 15 touchdowns in addition to catching 116 passes for 1,005 yards and four scores en route to Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections.

Through six games this season, McCaffrey has rushed for 393 yards and two touchdowns and has caught 33 passes for 277 yards and one score.

The Panthers have arguably the worst offense in the NFL, averaging a league-low 260 yards per game. The San Francisco offense has been far better, averaging 340.2 yards per game.

McCaffrey joins an offensive group that includes Jimmy Garoppolo, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk. He figures to be the team's top running back, taking over for Jeff Wilson Jr., Tyrion Davis-Price and Tevin Coleman.

Elijah Mitchell, who had served as the team's top running back, is on injured reserve with a knee injury.

The 49ers take on the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, which could be McCaffrey's first game with the franchise. They are tied with the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams for the NFC West lead with a 3-3 record.

The San Francisco 49ers aren't planning for running back Christian McCaffrey to be a "one-year rental" after trading for the Carolina Panthers star Thursday.

"I don't think this is something we would look into if we thought it was just for this year," head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters Friday. "I think Christian with his contract is gonna be around here a little bit. It's not just a one-year rental."

The 49ers sent multiple draft picks to Carolina for McCaffrey:

Trade comp: 49ers are sending second-, third- and fourth-round picks in 2023 and a fifth-round pick in 2024 in exchange for RB Christian McCaffrey, sources tell ESPN.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 21, 2022

McCaffrey is under contract for three more years, but the 49ers could release him next offseason without paying any dead-cap money.

However, Shanahan's comments and the 49ers' decision to deal four draft picks for the running back indicate a longer-term plan for the ex-Stanford star in the Bay Area.

McCaffrey is playing in his sixth NFL season. He was one of the league's top superstars in 2018 and 2019 with 4,357 scrimmage yards and 32 touchdowns. His 2,392 yards and 19 touchdowns led the NFL in 2019.

Injuries held him to 10 games over the next two seasons. He's been healthy this year, though, and has averaged over 100 yards per game (670 total yards in six games).

But the Panthers have struggled to an NFL-worst 1-5 record. The offense ranks No. 27 in points scored, and the defense sits at No. 22. Carolina fired head coach Matt Rhule after a 37-15 home loss to the 49ers on Oct. 9. The team traded wide receiver Robbie Anderson to the Arizona Cardinals on Monday, and now McCaffrey is out of town as well.

As Carolina looks toward the future, the 49ers are focused on the present in hopes of making another Super Bowl run. The path to the NFC West title is clear given that no team (including the 3-3 49ers) sits above .500.

Adding a player like McCaffrey boosts the offense and puts the 49ers in contention for their third NFC Championship Game appearance in four years.

If the team plans on keeping him around into the mid-2020s, though, then some salary-cap maneuvering will have to go down. General manager John Lynch spoke on that topic Friday:

Lynch on the future cap maneuvering that will have to go on to keep McCaffrey on the team in '23 and beyond: "We've obviously put a lot of thought into it, but there's obviously going to be some inflection points where we have figure some things out and we will."

— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) October 21, 2022

Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap noted the team could redo his deal, a four-year, $64 million contract extension through 2025:

"The only remaining guarantee on the contract is a $1 million injury guarantee for 2023 which is basically meaningless since the CBA offers him more injury protection if hurt. His salary next year is $12 million. Given the price they gave up I would expect the team to strongly try to redo that deal and bring that salary down by a few million so they can keep him."

The cap hits amount to $12 million a season from 2023 to 2025.

McCaffrey will look to make his 49ers debut Sunday at home against the Kansas City Chiefs.

New San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey will shed No. 22 following his trade from the Carolina Panthers.

McCaffrey will wear No. 23, per ESPN's Field Yates. The number was previously warn by practice squad running back Marlon Mack, who was spotted sporting a No. 36 jersey in practice Friday, per ESPN's Nick Wagoner.

Christian McCaffrey will officially wear number 23 for the 49ers.

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) October 21, 2022

New team, new number. @CMC_22#FTTB pic.twitter.com/B2gKmh5514

— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) October 21, 2022

The Athletic's Matt Barrows noted the two digits in McCaffrey's new number add up to the number he wore at Stanford:

Christian McCaffrey’s college number was 5

2 + 3 = 5

His new number is 23

Marlon Mack wearing 36 at practice

— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) October 21, 2022

The Panthers traded McCaffrey to the 49ers for second, third and fourth rounds picks in the 2023 NFL draft and a fifth-round pick in the 2024 draft. He will be San Francisco's top running back, topping a depth chart that includes Jeff Wilson Jr. (who wears No. 22), Tevin Coleman and Tyrion Davis-Price.

In six games with the Panthers, McCaffrey rushed for 393 yards and two touchdowns.

There's nothing like a late-night blockbuster to start a weekend of NFL action off right.

Late Thursday night, the San Francisco 49ers sent shock waves rippling across the league by dealing a package of picks to the Carolina Panthers for star running back Christian McCaffrey.

For the player, it's a homecoming of sorts—a return to Northern California after playing collegiately at Stanford. For the Panthers, it's a sign that Carolina is blowing the team up and starting from scratch.

For the 49ers, it means San Francisco is going all-in on the 2022 season. That the team is confident enough that McCaffrey makes it a legitimate Super Bowl contender that it's further mortgaging the franchise's future. That adding arguably the most versatile and dangerous back in the NFL is the missing piece that will put the 49ers over the top.

While there's no guarantee McCaffrey's arrival puts the 49ers on a collision course with Glendale, Arizona, and Super Bowl LVII, it's hard to argue it didn't shift the balance of power even further in San Francisco's direction in the NFC West and make the Niners the NFC's second-best team on paper.

No one was happier to hear the news that McCaffrey was headed west than 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, as he said on KNBR on Friday (h/t David Bonilla of 49ers Webzone).

"It was more a big smile and then like, 'All right, I've got to go back and redo third downs, redo red zone, redo everything,'" Shanahan said. "And then it was like, 'Wait a second. He's still got to come and pass the physical. He's not going to be at practice.'"

It's not hard to see why Shanahan was excited. Through the first six games of the 2022 season, McCaffrey essentially was the offense for the Panthers. Even as defenses keyed on him on the worst team in the league, he amassed 670 total yards. He averaged 4.6 yards a carry and was on pace for over 90 receptions and almost 1,900 total yards.

McCaffrey's last full season was one of the best by a running back in recent memory. In 2019, he became just the third player in league history to eclipse 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in the same season. He averaged 4.8 yards per carry that season and scored 19 touchdowns.

Simply put, when healthy and on top of his game, the 26-year-old McCaffrey does everything at an elite level. It's not that opponents didn't try to stop him in Charlotte. They just couldn't.

Of course, adding a player of that caliber didn't come cheaply for San Francisco. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the 49ers sent Carolina a second-round pick, a third-rounder and a fourth-rounder in 2023 and a 2024 fifth-round pick. His contract carries cap hits of $12 million in 2023 and 2024, although this year's cap hit is negligible after the Panthers reworked McCaffrey's contract in the offseason.

Combined with what the 49ers spent to trade up for quarterback Trey Lance in 2021, Shanahan and general manager John Lynch can just sleep in when the 2023 draft rolls around.

The 49ers have made their selections on the 2023 Draft.
They are Trey Lance and Christian McCaffrey.
Their next pick is in the fifth round.

— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) October 21, 2022

The deal admittedly carries risks beyond the costs in draft capital and cap space. McCaffrey missed 23 of 33 games in 2020 and 2021 with shoulder, ankle and hamstring injuries. But the injuries weren't repetitive, and he has shown no ill effects from them in 2022.

The future is now in San Francisco. The team shoved all its chips into the middle of the table. When you consider what McCaffrey could add to the 49ers offense, it's not hard to see why.

The first six weeks of the 2022 season have been bumpy in San Francisco. The Niners have a win over the rival Rams to their credit, but they also have losses to two teams with losing records. Last week, the Niners were handled with relative ease by a Falcons team no one is slating for the Super Bowl.

Like the team itself, San Francisco's offense has been uneven. But even before the trade, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo expressed confidence that the offense was turning a corner:

"I mean, there's just certain plays where there's a trust factor. I think that plays a big part in any offense, just between the quarterback and the skill guys, there's a trust factor that, it's not just given either. You got to earn that stuff, you got to earn it in here, in the locker room out on the field, away from the facility, whatever you do. I think there's a trust factor that we're moving in the right direction. We just need to make that happen quicker rather than later."

San Francisco's offensive issues can be partly attributed to thrusting Garoppolo back into the lineup without the benefit of much offseason work after Lance suffered a season-ending injury in Week 2. And given that McCaffrey has next to no time to prepare to face the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, Shanahan allowed that he may not play in Week 7.

"I'm still up in the air whether we're going to be able to get him here for Sunday or not," he said. "I know for sure he'll be here the following Sunday. But that's kind of why I'm in a wait-and-see approach right now."

Once McCaffrey is up to speed, though, the 49ers offense should start heading in that right direction at warp speed.

Under Shanahan, the Niners have been one of the NFL's better running teams using a menagerie of late-round picks and undrafted free agents. This year, the 49ers rank 12th in the league in rushing. Last year, they were seventh. Players like Elijah Mitchell and Jeff Wilson Jr. were great finds by the 49ers, but they're not remotely the level of talent that McCaffrey is.

With McCaffrey in the fold, the 49ers have the best assemblage of skill-position talent in the NFC. Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel at wide receiver. George Kittle at tight end. And now McCaffrey. Both Samuel and McCaffrey can do damage from all over the formation as well—chess pieces that are a dream for Shanahan and the stuff of nightmares for opposing defensive coordinators.

Add in that the 49ers should get offensive tackle Trent Williams back soon and that San Francisco's defense ranks first in the NFL in total defense and second against the pass, against the run and in points allowed, and the only thing standing between the Niners and the title of the NFC's best team on paper is Garoppolo.

However, even if you think the 49ers aren't the NFC's best team, they are easily the front-runners in the NFC West. The Rams are 26th in the league in offense thanks to a dismal run game (Los Angeles reportedly made its own push for McCaffrey) and offensive line. The Seattle Seahawks are a nice story, but their atrocious defense caps their ceiling. And while the Arizona Cardinals are not a bad team, they are also not a good one.

It seems odd to be this excited about a team that will more likely than not be 3-4 in a few days. But even if San Francisco loses to the Chiefs on Sunday, it won't be more than one game back of first with 10 to play. Next week's tilt with the Rams will feature a much different team than the one we've seen to date. A more dangerous team.

And come February, we may well look back on Oct. 20 as the day the balance of power shifted in the NFC.

Carolina Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer said the team isn't planning a full-blown fire sale following Thursday night's blockbuster trade of running back Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers.

"This isn't a situation where we're trying to sell," Fitterer told reporters Friday.

The second-year GM added it would take "something astronomical" to move other members of the core, such as wide receiver DJ Moore, defensive end Brian Burns or defensive tackle Derrick Brown.

Although the Panthers are hesitant to say they're set to enter a rebuilding phase, things are certainly trending in that direction.

Carolina is 1-5 and already fired head coach Matt Rhule, whose offensive pedigree wasn't enough to overcome a quarterback room that was led by Teddy Bridgewater (2020), Sam Darnold (2021) and Baker Mayfield (2022) during his three seasons in charge.

Bottoming out is the best route for the NFC South squad. Accumulating a massive amount of draft picks while potentially landing a top-five selection in the 2023 draft would represent fast-track progress toward a turnaround.

The McCaffrey trade was a strong start. They received four draft picks—second-, third- and fourth-rounders in the 2023 draft and a fifth-round selection in 2024—while also shedding the remainder of the 2019 Pro Bowler's four-year, $64.1 million contract.

Brown and Burns are still on team-friendly rookie contracts—Brown through 2024 and Burns through 2023—so moving them probably isn't necessary given their strong defensive impact, but dealing Moore should at least be considered before the Nov. 1 trade deadline.

The 25-year-old wideout has recorded just 20 catches for 204 yards and one touchdown through six games. Those numbers are more reflective of the team's putrid passing attack than his own abilities.

Moore, who's under contract through 2025 as part of a three-year, $61.9 million deal, had topped 1,100 receiving yards in each of the past three seasons.

Trading him to a contender for another haul of draft picks to basically press the reset button on offense, with the hope of landing a top quarterback prospect to build around in next year's draft, is probably the front office's best course of action.

Alabama's Bryce Young, Ohio State's C.J. Stroud and Kentucky's Will Levis are among the top signal-callers on early big boards for the 2023 draft.

All told, despite Fitterer's comments, expect the Panthers to remain one of the NFL's top sellers over the next couple of weeks leading up to the deadline.

Carolina is back in action Sunday when it welcomes Tom Brady and Tampa Bay Buccaneers to Bank of America Stadium for a divisional clash.

The Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers surprised the football world by completing a trade for star running back Christian McCaffrey on Thursday night.

With the deal, the Panthers added a substantial haul of draft picks for 2023 and beyond, and now, their draft inventory looks like this:

Panthers hope to be an active Sean Payton suitor. Their picks are now:

2023: 1, 2, 2 (via Niners), 3 (via Niners), 4, 4 (via Niners), 5

2024: 1, 2, 3, 5 (via Titans), 5 (via Niners), 6 (via Cardinals)

2025: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 (via Cardinals), 7 https://t.co/x2imW6XdCK

— John Sigler (@john_siglerr) October 21, 2022

The 49ers, on the other hand, don't have much draft capital next year after going all-in to land a two-time All-Pro running back:

https://twitter.com/LombardiHimself/status/1583301902002839554

In the official announcement of the trade, Panthers team reporter Darin Gantt wrote that the team is "adding draft inventory for the offseason as they look to build on a core of young players on defense." Carolina has selected a defensive player in the first round in three out of the last four drafts.

At 1-5, the Panthers look like the worst team in the NFL through the first six weeks of the 2022 season. The team fired former head coach Matt Rhule after a blowout loss to the 49ers in Week 5. Carolina also traded disgruntled wide receiver Robby Anderson to the Arizona Cardinals after he had a sideline confrontation with coaches in the middle of a game.

The move to trade McCaffrey continues the Panthers' transition to a rebuild. Carolina has a pair of quarterbacks who aren't signed beyond this season in Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold, both of whom are playing this year on their fifth-year options. Mayfield has struggled as the team's starter, while Darnold returned to practice this week after suffering an ankle injury in the preseason finale.

As for the 49ers, they are in full win-now mode. San Francisco has made deep postseason runs in each of its last two playoff appearances but fell short of its ultimate goal of a Super Bowl victory both times.

The 49ers clearly have no interest in building through the draft, as they feel their window for title contention is wider than ever. Only time will tell if the team's gamble was worth it.

The San Francisco 49ers added a boost to their backfield by reportedly acquiring running back Christian McCaffrey from the Carolina Panthers on Thursday night.

Full terms:
-- The #49ers get star RB Christian McCaffrey.
-- The #Panthers get a 2nd round pick in 2023, a third-rounder in 2023, and a fourth-round pick in 2023. Plus, a fifth-rounder in 2024.

Massive.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 21, 2022

So what does McCaffrey switching uniforms mean from a fantasy football perspective? Let's take a look.

McCaffrey should absolutely thrive in a run-heavy San Francisco offense. He's topped 20 carries in a game just once this season in Week 3, and he hasn't reached 15 carries since then. Coincidentally, McCaffrey's 25-rush, 108-yard performance in the third game of the year helped lead Carolina to its lone win of the season.

The Panthers did their best to utilize McCaffrey in the passing attack, as he led the team in targets in two out of the last three games. However, the run game suffered because of it, as Carolina's offense failed to find the proper balance to be successful.

McCaffrey, who is returning to the Bay Area after starring at Stanford, shouldn't have that problem with the 49ers. San Francisco ranks ninth in the NFL with 168 rushing attempts and 12th with 124.0 rush yards per game.

McCaffrey will immediately be inserted as the lead back for the 49ers ahead of Jeff Wilson Jr. and Tevin Coleman. The 26-year-old should be viewed as a must-start in fantasy leagues going forward. Owners who chose not to trade him amid his early struggles are certainly rejoicing after this change in fortune.

The addition of McCaffrey should also greatly benefit 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. The two-time All-Pro is known for his dual-threat ability out of the backfield and could provide Garoppolo with a safety outlet for check-down throws as well as easy scores in the red zone.

While Garoppolo isn't a QB1 by any means, he could be considered a streaming option going forward. McCaffrey's presence could have an affect on the ball-catchers for San Francisco, as he will take some touches away from Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk. However, it won't be significant enough for any of those players to have to be removed from your lineups.

Any fantasy football team managers with 49ers offensive players on their rosters should feel happy about McCaffrey joining the mix for San Francisco.

The San Francisco 49ers' running back room took a major hit earlier this season when Elijah Mitchell was lost to a knee injury.

So they reportedly acquired one of the best running backs in the league on Thursday.

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Carolina Panthers traded Christian McCaffrey to the 49ers for second-, third- and fourth-round draft picks in 2023 and a fifth-round draft pick in 2024.

It was quite the price to pay, but McCaffrey is under contract through 2025 and is making $1.04 million in base salary this year, per Spotrac. That means he should be a key part of San Francisco's backfield for years to come as it adds him to a team that had a total cap of $207.7 million and an estimated cap space of $4.8 million, per Spotrac.

Here is a look at the team's current running back depth chart with Mitchell injured:

1. Christian McCaffrey

2. Jeff Wilson Jr.

3. Tevin Coleman

San Francisco has a golden opportunity in front of it this season. While the Los Angeles Rams may be reigning Super Bowl champions, they are off to a 3-3 start and have looked anything but dominant thus far.

The Arizona Cardinals are 3-4, and the Seattle Seahawks are 3-3 in their first season after trading Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos. The NFC West is wide open, and the 49ers are right atop the division at 3-3 even though they have dealt with a large number of injuries to this point.

Mitchell, Trey Lance, Nick Bosa, Trent Williams, Arik Armstead, Javon Kinlaw, Jimmie Ward and Talanoa Hufanga are among those who have dealt with various ailments, but the team is still right in the thick of the early playoff race.

While Lance is lost for the season, the 49ers figure to get healthier at some point. That could open the door for another deep playoff run after reaching a Super Bowl and NFC Championship Game during the past three seasons, and McCaffrey gives them an explosive playmaker who will be quite the one-two punch with Deebo Samuel.

Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is at his best as a game manager who gets the ball in the hands of the playmakers around him, meaning the more game-changers the team can add the better off it will be come the stretch run.

There aren't many better than McCaffrey, who has 393 rushing yards, 277 receiving yards and three total touchdowns through six games for a Panthers team that has largely struggled on the way to a 1-5 record.

Opposing defenses focused much of their attention on him in Carolina, but now they will have to deal with McCaffrey, Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and others in San Francisco.

It will be anything but easy.

Rival NFL executives reportedly believe the Carolina Panthers won't find a trade partner for star running back Christian McCaffrey before the Nov. 1 deadline if they require an offer with multiple first-round draft picks.

Joseph Person of The Athletic reported Wednesday that "no one in league circles" thinks the Panthers can get that type of package for McCaffrey and will instead have to consider either a single first-rounder or a "passel of Day 2 and Day 3 picks."

The initial report about the Panthers seeking multiple firsts for CMC, which came from Fox Sports' Peter Schrager on Sunday, was taken a bit out of context. Schrager suggested Carolina wanted that level of return as part of a complete roster tear down, including the possible exit of several key defenders, not necessarily just for the Pro Bowl running back.

In today's NFL, getting one first-round pick for any running back, even one with the high-end playmaking ability of McCaffrey, represents strong value. The position simply doesn't carry as much weight in the passing-dominated league.

It's also important to consider the 26-year-old Stanford product was limited to 10 appearances over the past two seasons because of injuries, which creates some additional risk for interested teams.

That said, at the more modest price point—one first-rounder or a few later selections—McCaffrey deserves consideration from Super Bowl contenders.

The 2019 first-team All-Pro selection has played in all six of Carolina's games this season, averaging a healthy 4.6 yards on 85 carries. He's recorded 670 yards from scrimmage and three total touchdowns, and he's earned a strong 83.3 grade from Pro Football Focus.

Putting him in an high-powered offense like the ones run by the Buffalo Bills or Kansas City Chiefs would create seemingly endless potential. The Athletic report also listed the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers as possible landing spots.

For his part, McCaffrey said Sunday he's trying to steer clear of the rumor mill.

"All that stuff's out of my control," he told reporters. "My job is to be the best Carolina Panther I can be and do everything I can for my teammates."

The Panthers have two games left before the trade deadline: Sunday at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and an Oct. 30 road trip to face the Atlanta Falcons.

It's possible one of those contests will mark McCaffrey's final appearance for Carolina, which selected him in the first round of the 2017 draft.