San Francisco 49ers All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey shared an encouraging update on his health during team minicamp, saying that he feels “great” as he works his way back from being ravaged by injuries throughout the 2024 season.
Coming off a 2023 season where he led San Francisco to an NFC West title and Super Bowl appearance while winning Offensive Player of the Year honors, McCaffrey suffered a calf/Achilles injury in training camp, which limited him to just four games before a PCL injury in Week 12 ultimately ended his season for good.
McCaffrey, who led the league in rushing (1,459 yards), yards from scrimmage (2,023) and total touchdowns (21) in 2023, detailed to reporters on Wednesday the work he has put into getting healthy by the time OTAs started.
“I think this offseason I spent a lot of time kind of building back a base, starting from scratch,” McCaffrey said. “So a lot of it was rehab, and I wanted to put myself in a position where I didn’t miss a day of OTAs and I could practice, play football again, be healthy and not miss a day. And I did that, and now we can kind of kick back up the training again. But I feel great.”
Since being drafted by the Carolina Panthers in 2017, McCaffrey has been one of the NFL’s elite dual-threat running backs when healthy. But in 2024, some of McCaffrey’s past issues with injuries reared their ugly head again. In 2020 and 2021, a series of injuries limited him to just 10 games total prior to a return to form in 2022, when he was traded to the 49ers midseason.
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Now 29 and entering his ninth season, McCaffrey said he’s had to adjust his approach to offseason training in order to be in the best possible position to succeed during the season.
“I’ve had a lot of people tell me as you get older you need to do less. I think there’s a middle ground with that statement,” McCaffrey said. “For me, it’s kind of a constant evaluation of where your body’s at and what you need. You put a lot of trust in other people — your trainer, your treatment people, people at the facility. If you follow their plans and you like where it’s going and you start to feel good, you’re constantly evaluating where you’re at and trusting the whole offseason process.”
McCaffrey has been a participant in 49ers team activities throughout the spring, from OTAs to the end of minicamp on Wednesday as he prepares to help his team bounce back from a tough, injury-plagued season that resulted in an ugly 6-11 record.
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