SouthernWorldwide.com – The San Francisco 49ers are committed to reducing the workload of their star running back, Christian McCaffrey, regardless of his personal preference.
While McCaffrey himself doesn’t seem concerned about the high volume of touches he received last season, the coaching staff has expressed a clear intention to manage his usage more effectively moving forward.
“I’ve been dealing with those questions for nine years it feels like,” McCaffrey stated. He believes that workload management is more crucial during practice sessions rather than in games, especially given the high stakes of the 17-game regular season.
McCaffrey emphasized his philosophy on game days: “You’ve got to do whatever it takes to win and that’s not a coach’s job. You don’t tell a 3-point shooter you only get six 3s today. So much of it is rhythmic and it’s my job to put my body in the best position I can to go out there and play.” He feels that preparation during the week is key, but on game days, he aims to play every snap.
Last season, McCaffrey played in 83% of offensive snaps, leading all running backs. He rarely asked for a break, and running backs coach Bobby Turner continued to utilize him extensively.
“It’s challenging,” Turner admitted. “But I should have personally done a better job of managing that last year, because I do keep a tally on every play and aware when he’s in, when he isn’t. But this year, the coaching staff, they will all be involved in making sure that doesn’t happen.”
After an injury-shortened 2024 season where he played only four games, McCaffrey proved to be remarkably durable in the subsequent season. He accumulated 1,010 offensive snaps in the regular season and playoffs, becoming only the ninth running back in two decades to achieve this milestone.
Furthermore, he became the second player in the past decade to record at least 450 combined carries and receptions. This high usage was partly necessitated by injuries to other key offensive players, including quarterback Brock Purdy, tight end George Kittle, and receiver Ricky Pearsall.
“We went into the year wanting to take care of him a little bit more,” head coach Kyle Shanahan explained. “But the way the offense went, I think more with the receivers and the injuries that we had, it was hard to get him off (the field). And it was cool to have him out there because he did help our offense so much.”
McCaffrey, who recently turned 30, has historically struggled in the seasons following his most demanding workloads. The two previous instances where he exceeded 400 touches – in 2019 with the Carolina Panthers and in 2023 with the 49ers – were followed by significant injury troubles, missing 13 games in both the 2020 and 2024 seasons.
This is precisely the scenario the 49ers are determined to prevent this year. Their strategy involves placing greater trust in their younger running backs.
Jordan James, a fifth-round pick in 2025, faced challenges due to a training camp injury, which prevented him from establishing himself as a reliable option. His limited regular-season offensive snaps occurred during kneel-down situations in a blowout victory against Indianapolis. His only other significant involvement was late in a playoff loss to Seattle, where he recorded six carries for 28 yards and one reception.
The 49ers then drafted Kaelon Black from Indiana in the third round this year, expressing optimism that at least one of these two backs can contribute meaningfully this season.
“I’m positive they’re going to get more opportunities,” Turner stated. “They both are competitors, they both were drafted for a reason. They’re mentally tough people, they can be explosive. … They definitely will get more opportunity, which means Christian is going to be fresher.”
A fresher McCaffrey is also expected to be more explosive. Despite accumulating 2,126 yards from scrimmage and nearing his second season with over 1,000 rushing and receiving yards, McCaffrey’s ability to break big plays seemed diminished. He managed only three runs of 20 yards or more, a significant drop from the nine such runs in his last fully healthy season in 2023, when he earned AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year honors.
In contrast, the 49ers had only four long runs as a team in the entire season, a stark contrast to their average of nearly 14 big runs per season over the previous four years.
“When you look around the league and you study great backs and study guys who affect the game like he does, those guys do come out of the game,” offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak commented. “Those guys do get a blow sometimes and whether it’s a drive or a couple plays in a series, it helps those players. Christian knows that, and we’ve got to do a better job as coaches, we’ve got to do a better job at times of getting a better rotation.”
