There were a lot of things that went wrong for the San Francisco 49ers last season. The 49ers regressed to a 6-11 team with plenty of questions on both sides of the ball just one year after taking the Kansas City Chiefs to overtime in the Super Bowl, leaving it up to general manager John Lynch to figure out how to solve the team's various issues.
San Francisco made plenty of changes to fix the problem this offseason. A trade that sent Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders was the first domino to fall. The return of Robert Saleh as defensive coordinator was another change that head coach Kyle Shanahan hopes to get the best out of his team.
But for all the new and returning faces that defined the 49ers' offseason, there was one ugly truth that presented itself, showing not only why 2024 went so poorly but also why they should have some optimism that things will be healthy in 2025.
Christian McCaffrey was Never Truly Healthy for 49ers in 2024
At this time last year, the 49ers were vague about Christian McCaffrey’s injury status. McCaffrey was dealing with a calf injury but was expected to return at any moment. Then training camp happened, and McCaffrey was still on the sidelines. When the season began, it was revealed that he was also dealing with an Achilles injury that would sideline him for the first eight games of the season.
McCaffrey finally made his debut in Week 9, but his return lasted just four games until he suffered a PCL injury while facing the Buffalo Bills in Week 12. His 2024 performance resulted in just 202 rushing yards and 146 receiving yards, and the 49ers were lucky that the injury that ended his year didn’t result in something worse.
The good news is that things look different heading into next season and McCaffrey acknowledged that he feels much better than he did a year ago.
“I think this offseason I spent a lot of time kind of building back a base starting from scratch, so a lot of it was rehab,” McCaffrey said via Nick Wagoner of ESPN. “[I] wanted to put myself in a position where I didn’t miss a day of OTAs and I could practice and play football again, be healthy and not miss a day and I did that.”
Shanahan also vouched for his star running back’s health, noting his work ethic to get back on the field.
“If I said it, I’d be making up because Christian is – I mean, he is a psycho in a good way and so like he does everything imaginable every single day,” Shanahan said. “Last year he couldn’t because he was battling injury all last year. And this year he is healthy so he is right back to being who he is always been and it’s really fun to watch.”
The 49ers also showed their confidence in McCaffrey this offseason.
In addition to trading Samuel, San Francisco sent backup running back Jordan Mason to the Minnesota Vikings in a trade last March. There are also questions about the receiving group with Brandon Aiyuk recovering from a torn ACL and MCL suffered last October, and it’s apparent the 49ers offense is going to go as far as McCaffrey takes them.
Placing that burden on a running back who just turned 29 is a risky bet. It’s even more concerning when that player spent the previous season flirting with disaster. But the 49ers have pushed their chips to the table and are banking on McCaffrey’s newfound health.