As Christian McCaffrey describes it, he was more than a little ticked off.
Then, it did not take the running back long to realize he should be grateful for the midseason trade that sent him to the 49ers.
McCaffrey said he tried to wrap his mind around a swirl of emotions last season when Carolina Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer made that midseason call to inform him he had been traded.
“In hindsight, I firmly believe it’s the best thing that ever happened to me,” McCaffrey said last Wednesday at the Dwight Clark Legacy Series in San Jose.
“But at the time, it was bittersweet, right? You’re leaving. In my head, I was pissed off, to be frank. I felt like, ‘You guys don’t want me any more.’ That’s what it is. I was hungry to get back to the football I knew I could play.”
McCaffrey immediately became a key figure in coach Kyle Shanahan's offense. He appeared in 14 games for the 49ers, including three in the NFL playoffs. In total, he gained 984 yards and eight touchdowns rushing, while catching 64 passes for 525 yards and five touchdowns.
Initially, McCaffrey wrestled with the idea of being traded after earning his way into two Pro Bowls with the Panthers.
San Francisco 49ers
“Obviously, I was fired up [to join the 49ers], but there were a lot of emotions that come with that, to be honest,” McCaffrey said. “I was a captain on that team. I’d been there five years, played some good football there — was on a couple good teams, was on some bad teams. But when you commit to a team, you’re a part of something that’s bigger than yourself.”
McCaffrey said it did not take him long to realize he was traded to a team that was capable of making a deep postseason run.
“I stepped in the huddle, and you have Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, Trent Williams, Brandon Aiyuk,” he said. “You got guys all over the place who can play. I felt like I was on a Pro Bowl roster.”
It was a whirlwind for McCaffrey. The trade was completed late on a Thursday night. Early the next morning, he boarded a flight from the East Coast and arrived in Santa Clara two days before their Week 8 game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
He said those first few weeks are a blur as he worked on gaining enough knowledge of the team’s playbook to be able to function. But something about his first game is ingrained in his memory, he said.
“I do remember that first game. I’ll always remember this: Jerry [Rice] was on the field,” McCaffrey said. “He came up to me and gave me a big greeting, and I was like, ‘That’s Jerry Rice sitting on the field, man.’ ”
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McCaffrey appeared on stage with Rice and John Taylor for the Dwight Clark event that raised more than $200,000 for the Golden Heart Fund to support former 49ers in times of need.
“I say this with the utmost respect, this is a family,” McCaffrey said. “It’s the first time I felt like, even alumni, and getting to know these two guys even in the back [stage], and obviously we’ve crossed paths before, but it’s special.
“It’s different, and there’s a reason why it’s sustainable and has been for so long. The word I would use now is, just very proud to be a part of this organization.”