Christian McCaffrey says he feels 'great' after 49ers minicamp on heels of injury-plagued season
Christian McCaffrey's health will be one of the biggest 49ers storylines heading into the new NFL season.
When healthy, McCaffrey's one of the most dynamic weapons in football, an offensive talent who can make the difference for a good team in contending or not contending for a Super Bowl. But that's a significant contingency.
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Injuries have limited McCaffrey to seven or fewer games in four of his 10 NFL seasons. One of those seasons was 2024, when a calf/Achilles injury sustained in training camp lingered throughout the season. That and a PCL injury suffered in Week 12 against the Buffalo Bills limited McCaffrey to four games.
The 49ers wrapped two days of minicamp on Wednesday on the heels of multiple OTA sessions since May. McCaffrey's been a participant throughout. And he's optimistic about his health heading into the 2025 season.
McCaffrey was asked on Wednesday if he feels any pain or has any lingering concern from the Achilles injury that limited him so much in 2024.
"No, I feel great," McCaffrey said. "This offseason, I spent a lot of time kind of building back a base starting from scratch. A lot of it was rehab. 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 and be healthy and not miss a day.
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"I did that. And now we can kind of kick back up to training again. But, I feel great."
That's great news for the 49ers and their fans.
The last time McCaffrey played a relatively healthy season was in 2023. In 16 games, he led the league in rushing (1,459 yards), yards from scrimmage (2,023) and total touchdowns (21) en route to his third All-Pro selection and Offensive Player of the Year Honors. The 49ers finished 12-5, won the NFC West and advanced to the Super Bowl.
With McCaffrey limited to four games last season, the 49ers fell to last place in the NFC West and missed the playoffs at 6-11. McCaffrey's absence, of course, wasn't the only issue ailing the 49ers, who fell short of expectations across the board, most notably with a defense that allowed 25.6 points per game. But it didn't help.
The 49ers are hoping to bounce back from last season's unexpected slide and back into the Super Bowl picture. Having a healthy McCaffrey who can still produce at 29 years old will be key to those hopes.
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