Christian McCaffrey was dealt from the Panthers to the 49ers in a surprise move Thursday night. Here are the implications.
The San Francisco 49ers have mostly watched as the NFC West division rival Los Angeles Rams have repeatedly swung for the fences to try to win the Super Bowl. That approach worked for the Rams last season. The Niners believe it’s their turn, which is why they pulled off a stunning trade for running back Christian McCaffrey late Thursday night.
The Niners sent second-, third- and fourth-round picks in 2023 and a fifth-round pick in 2024 to the Carolina Panthers for McCaffrey in hopes he can help jump-start a sagging offense.
Through the first six weeks, the 49ers have been plagued by injuries all over the roster, and their offense hasn’t played close to the level of their dominant defense.
Coach Kyle Shanahan doesn’t want a repeat of 2019, when the Niners wasted an elite defense as the offense couldn’t close out the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Put simply: San Francisco believes it is in a championship window, and trading for McCaffrey sends that message loud and clear to the rest of the league.
This should be relatively seamless for McCaffrey, who has plenty of experience operating in an outside zone-heavy scheme and brings the type of versatility that will allow Shanahan to mix and match him with the team’s skill-position options. And make no mistake, while McCaffrey will be the team’s No. 1 option at running back, Shanahan will use him in the pass game plenty and create more headaches for defenses, who now have to keep track of him and the likes of receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk and tight end George Kittle. — Nick Wagoner
On paper, it seems like it. But when you make an all-in move like this, there’s no price that’s too high if it pays off. The risk is obvious: McCaffrey has missed 23 games in the past two seasons, and he’s joining a team that is consistently snakebit by injury. And while the Niners have a couple of third-round compensatory picks, they’re essentially punting on the 2023 NFL draft.
