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SANTA CLARA — It was a welcome sight for the 49ers Faithful and fantasy football fans around the world seeing Christian McCaffrey working out on the side field during San Francisco's training-camp practice on Thursday.
Since suffering what was deemed a minor calf strain, the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year had not been seen on the field, even as an observer during on-field work. McCaffrey appeared to go through his usual warmup routine and continued with a little bit of light running.
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Teammate Kyle Juszczyk believes the star ball carrier still is dialed in and ready for the season, and really wanting to get back on the field with his team.
“He always is super determined,” Juszczyk said after Thursday's practice. “He’s always striving for more. It really is never enough for him. You can see it’s killing him to not be out there. He’s always chomping at the bit and he makes sure to remind me every day that he’s getting a little bit closer.”
McCaffrey was a workhorse for the 49ers during the 2023 NFL season, racking up 272 carries for a league-high 1,459 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns. The Stanford product was also effective in the pass game with 67 catches for 564 yards and another seven receiving scores.
Kyle Shanahan has already expressed the need to dial the All-Pro’s workload back a bit but that will be difficult with how productive McCaffrey can be. It might be a little easier in the season ahead to give McCaffrey a little relief with how effective JP Mason has looked during training camp, but still, McCaffrey is one of the best to carry the ball.
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Juszczyk believes McCaffrey is set to have another record-setting season and can’t wait to open up paths on the field for the ball carrier to run through.
“He’s going to have cleats on the grass in no time and he’s going to be Christian McCaffrey,” Juszczyk said. “He’s going to do his thing, and be one of the best players in the world.”
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