Tread carefully in your expectations of a stellar return from injury for San Francisco 49ers star Christian McCaffrey.
For as great as San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey is, a glaring blemish on his reputation is continuing to show.
He is only as great as his availability allows him to be.
This unfortunate reality was a defining asterisk on McCaffrey's tenure with the Carolina Panthers. After two All-Pro selections in his first two NFL seasons, "CMC" was then sidelined with injury for practically two full years.
His first return to a full season of games? A Pro Bowl. However, he was shipped to San Francisco midway through the schedule.
His first full year with the 49ers proved to be another healthy one in 2023. It turned out to be his best season yet with an Offensive Player of the Year award to show for it.
But in 2024, it was once again a rarity to see McCaffrey at full strength - if we even saw that at all last season.
Heading into 2025, CBS hasn't seemed to consider these trends and expects McCaffrey, at the age of 30, to "storm back from injury".
We should tread carefully here because the explanation doesn't ooze much optimism.
"'CMC' was one of two things with the Carolina Panthers to open his career: All-Pro-caliber or injured," writes Cody Benjamin. "The trend finally returned in San Francisco in 2024, when the multipurpose star followed up an Offensive Player of the Year campaign by missing 13 games with Achilles tendinitis.
"Approaching 30, he's hardly a safe bet to sustain a heavy workload, and his top backup, Jordan Mason, is no longer in town for relief. Still, the rest of the 49ers getting healthy should help ease him back into a starring role for Kyle Shanahan."
If a "storm back" season means a less-heavy workload and easing back into stardom ... the standards have been set very low for this season.
This isn't to say it's impossible, but there are simply too many concerning factors in play to expect a remarkable bounce-back year from McCaffrey.
On the bright side? CMC is attack this rehab head on and has confirmed his participation in offseason programs.
"I'm feeling great," McCaffrey said last month.
"It's been such a smooth process, a lot of hard work. As soon as that injury happened in Buffalo, I was kind of—this was my goal, to not miss a day of OTAs, be back, ready to go, with nothing hindering me, and that's where I'm at."
