There has been a mass exodus of 49ers leaving San Francisco this offseason, and while many of their primary pieces remain, inquiring minds are wondering...who's next? If the 49ers aren't done dumping players and moving on from contracts that may be hindering their present and future plans, then it stands to reason that veteran running back Christian McCaffrey -- who has dealt with his share of injuries -- could potentially become available.
And if that happens, the Denver Broncos would be complete fools not to inquire about the price to get him to the Mile High City. More than that -- to bring him home.
McCaffrey is the son of Broncos legend Ed McCaffrey, a wide receiver in the 90s and 2000s who etched his spot in Broncos history by helping the team win back-to-back Super Bowl titles. He is synonymous in Denver with the jersey #87. Of course, the McCaffrey family is exceptionally athletic but Christian is one of the premier stars in the game today when he's right.
If the 49ers are retooling, reloading, rebuilding, or whatever you want to call it, is now the right time to trade him?
Broncos should jump at the chance to trade for Christian McCaffrey if possible
The issue with McCaffrey is his lengthy injury history. It's a big reason why the Carolina Panthers traded him to the San Francisco 49ers to begin with, and things got pretty concerning last year when McCaffrey was going overseas for consultations/treatments and ultimately only appeared in four total games. When he slid to the ground in the snow against Buffalo, it was even more discouraging.
McCaffrey's injury history aside for the moment, if his four games in 2024 would be extrapolated over an entire 17-game season, he still would have racked up 1,500 yards from scrimmage and blown any level of production the Broncos got from their running backs out of the water.
McCaffrey is a true superstar in every sense and while his injury concerns are real, so is his ability to impact games.
Shockingly, McCaffrey is only going to be 29 this coming season. He doesn't turn 29 until June and will have had plenty of time to recover from injury and get back to playing form.
The issue with the 49ers trading away McCaffrey right now is partly his contract situation. McCaffrey has base salaries of under $1.3 million each of the next two seasons, but the 49ers owe him an option bonus of $8.5 million on April 1.
That gives us a very clear timeline to know whether San Francisco will for sure be keeping McCaffrey or trading him. Adding salary cap space doesn't seem to be the goal of the 49ers right now so much as saving cash (with Brock Purdy's pay day coming up) and they may be inclined to keep that $8.5 million and let someone else pay it.
Heck, that might even drive the price down in a trade.
There is no guaranteed money beyond this year for McCaffrey, so trading for him would essentially be a one-year rental and wait to see after that.
McCaffrey is a Broncos legacy player. He was born to be a Bronco. The fact that it hasn't happened to this point is tragic. Could the Broncos actually pull this move off? If the 49ers are actually willing to trade him, there's no reason why not. The Broncos have a clear vacancy at running back.
While my philosophy in 2025 is to steer clear of veteran running backs and draft two guys from this loaded class, McCaffrey is the rare veteran I would make an exception for.