The San Francisco 49ers were resilient in 2025, finishing as the No. 2 seed in the NFC despite a wave of early injuries that quickly put their season in jeopardy.
With star pass rusher Nick Bosa missing almost the entire season after tearing his ACL, and key contributors like Brock Purdy, George Kittle and Fred Warner in and out of the lineup, San Francisco turned to an unlikely figure to keep their season afloat.
Despite his injury history, running back Christian McCaffrey stepped up, playing in all 19 games, totaling 2,126 scrimmage yards and 17 touchdowns, earning him 2025 Comeback Player of the Year honors.
Speaking with reporters, head coach Kyle Shanahan said that he wants to reduce the “wear and tear” on McCaffrey moving forward.
“I mean, Christian had an unbelievable year last year, but he definitely needs help,” Shanahan said.
#49ers HC Kyle Shanahan says he wants less ‘wear and tear’ on Christian McCaffrey next season and more rest.
Jordan James seems to be in for a bigger role to help reduce stress on CMC
Via: @TracyFGSN pic.twitter.com/YbU0Vzo2Qk
— OurSF49ers (@OurSf49ers) March 30, 2026
Guerendo, James among backs competing for bigger role
Heading into next season, McCaffrey will be 30 years old and entering his 11th season. With a history of lower-body injuries that have limited his availability, managing his workload could be key to maintaining his production.
Notably, San Francisco has already started its offseason by addressing player recovery.
General manager John Lynch revealed that the team looked into their facilities after the training staff received low grades in the NFLPA reports cards. In response, the team is investing $9 million in hydrotherapy areas and hiring three more personal trainers in order to give the players one-on-one attention during their rehab.
On the field, Shanahan hinted that the team needs to involve their backup running backs more, like Isaac Guerendo and Jordan James.
Guerendo was productive in his rookie season, rushing for 420 yards and four touchdowns while McCaffrey was unavailable. However, in his second season, he was essentially relegated to a special teams role, getting zero offensive snaps.
“Isaac has shown us that he can be very good in the passing game. You guys saw his rookie year, he could be a good runner,” Shanahan said. “Were not a big three-man rotation team, so you really had to be that one or two guy.”
Kyle Shanahan says the 49ers want to ease Christian McCaffrey’s burden in 2026, but that’s incumbent on backup RBs being trusted agents as receivers:
“The reason it’s so hard to take Christian out is because of how much he affects everything in the pass game.”
On Isaac…
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) March 30, 2026
Meanwhile, the rookie James missed almost the entire training camp and preseason, dealing with a knee injury and a broken finger. These injuries caused him to be a healthy scratch for the majority of the season.
Last season, the No. 2 role behind McCaffrey was held by Brian Robinson Jr., who was traded to the team before the start of the season. However, with Robinson signing with the Atlanta Falcons in the offseason, the backup role is once again open.
The young backs will need to use the offseason to prove they can be trusted with a larger share of the workload, easing the burden on McCaffrey while strengthening the offense.
