There were many reasons why the San Francisco 49ers missed the playoffs in 2024, and at the top of that list was the injury to star Christian McCaffrey that sidelined him for 13 games.
Just one season removed from his breakout NFL Offensive Player of the Year campaign, in which he rushed for 1,459 yards and 14 touchdowns and added 564 yards receiving and seven more scores, McCaffrey was limited to just four games last year as he battled Achillies tendonitis in both legs before a PCL injury in Week 12 knocked him out for the rest of the season.
The 29-year-old do-it-all back arrived for the star of 49ers offseason workouts back in April with “zero restrictions,” stating nothing was hindering him after working his way back to practicing at full speed early in the offseason.
Now with minicamp underway, all eyes are on McCaffrey to see if he truly looks like himself again or if he’s lost any kind of step after his series of injuries. But as he tells it, he’s back like nothing ever happened, according to ESPN’s Nick Wagoner.
San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey speaks to the media following a team OTA at Levi's Stadium.
D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images
“I feel great,” McCaffrey said on Wednesday. “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 and 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.”
In McCaffrey’s absence, the 49ers leaned heavily on backups Jordan Mason and rookie Isaac Guerendo.
Mason, who’s now in Minnesota, led the team with 789 yards rushing on 153 carries (5.2 yards per carry), while Guerendo led all backs with four rushing touchdowns in addition to his 420 yards on the ground.
Many take San Francisco trading Mason to the Vikings as a sign that there are no concerns internally about McCaffrey’s health.
The 49ers did sign former New York Jets fifth-round pick Israel Abanikanda and draft former Oregon star Jordan James in the fifth round of the 2025 draft as some extra insurance behind McCaffrey and Guerendo.
