Just 13 months ago the San Francisco 49ers were in the Super Bowl. Although they came up short, the roster was loaded, and it felt like they were just scratching the surface of how good they could be as a team. Those feelings quickly evaporated when receiver Brandon Aiyuk was nearly traded during a nasty contract dispute.
A few more contract disputes and backbreaking injuries later, the defending NFC Champions stumbled to a 6-11 record. With Brock Purdy in-line for a massive extension, unless San Francisco is able to pull off some cap gymnastics, this likely signifies the closing of the championship window.
The offseason started with the storied franchise trading away one of their longest tenured players in Deebo Samuel, and the mass exodus has continued in the weeks since. The 49ers have lost a myriad of high-profile players including Kyle Juszczyk, Dre Greenlaw, Charvarius Ward, and Talanoa Hufanga.
With Purdy in position to sign his extension, the team has hardly added much to help replace the losses. This has people wondering if the team should take a more drastic approach to clearing cap space.
During a segment on ESPN’s morning talk show Get Up Ryan Clark agreed with the sentiment that the 49ers should attempt to trade Christian McCaffrey seeing as it will provide them loads of cap relief.
This would be a clear indictment on the organization’s belief in their former seventh-round quarterback, believing that he can win without significant help at skill positions. There is no indication currently that San Francisco is willing to entertain this idea, but if they decided to trade the superstar running back, the Los Angeles Chargers should be first in line for his services.
The state of the Chargers’ running back position was in flux this offseason with the release of Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins entering free agency.
The team decided to go in the direction of Najee Harris to replace the former Ravens running backs, but the deal is only for $5.5 million. Knowing this, it’s hard to believe that Los Angeles would balk at a chance to add one of the best running backs of the generation.
McCaffrey is coming off a devastating Achilles injury that sidelined him for much of the season, but with essentially one-and-a-half years to rehabilitate the injury, hopefully he’d be able to come back stronger than last year.
With the way he transformed the 49ers offense when he was traded there in 2022, it would be hard to pass up an opportunity to have that in the Los Angeles backfield.
The two-time All-Pro would give the Chargers their most exciting playmaker since Ladanian Tomlinson, and he would do wonders for the pass game as well. There would be a ton of risk involved in a trade for McCaffrey, but it’s unlikely that Los Angeles could do anything to make the offseason any worse than it’s already been.
