{"id":243633,"date":"2026-03-30T17:27:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T17:27:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/243633\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T17:27:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T17:27:07","slug":"49ers-shanahan-aims-to-lighten-mccaffreys-workload","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/243633\/","title":{"rendered":"49ers’ Shanahan aims to lighten McCaffrey’s workload"},"content":{"rendered":"

PHOENIX — After a season where injuries forced San Francisco 49ers<\/a> running back Christian McCaffrey<\/a> to do most of the heavy lifting for his offense, coach Kyle Shanahan wants to ensure that McCaffrey’s burden in 2026 is less than it was in 2025.<\/p>\n

While Shanahan has often said he’d like to keep McCaffrey fresh by using other running backs, he was more emphatic about it Monday than he’s been at any point since the Niners acquired McCaffrey in 2022.<\/p>\n

That, perhaps, is no surprise given what McCaffrey did last season as the Niners played large chunks of the season without starting quarterback Brock Purdy<\/a>, tight end George Kittle<\/a> and receivers Brandon Aiyuk<\/a> and Ricky Pearsall<\/a>.<\/p>\n

When it ended, McCaffrey finished second in the NFL in scrimmage yards (2,126), third in scrimmage touchdowns (17) and first in touches (413, a career high). He won the league’s Comeback Player of the Year Award and was a finalist for MVP and Offensive Player of the Year.<\/p>\n

“I know that I don’t want Christian to have to take all of that,” Shanahan said. “It was amazing that he did and was able to do that. The reason it’s so hard to get Christian out is because of how much he affects everything in the pass game, even when he’s not getting the ball… But in order for us to be the running team we want to be, in order to have Christian be as good as he can be throughout the whole year, we’ve got to get someone to help him.”<\/p>\n

Before last season, the 49ers traded for running back Brian Robinson Jr<\/a>., who served as McCaffrey’s primary backup, but he departed for the Atlanta Falcons<\/a> in free agency. Jordan James<\/a> and Isaac Guerendo<\/a> are the top options on the team’s current depth chart as they enter their second and third NFL seasons, respectively.<\/p>\n

James, in particular, should get a longer look this season if he can stay healthy. He missed most of last year’s training camp because of knee and finger injuries and didn’t get his first carries until the season-ending loss to Seattle in the NFC Divisional Round.<\/p>\n

“Jordan James came on really strong at the end of last year, but he missed so much in the beginning,” Shanahan said. “He kind of just missed his window to pass some other people up. I wish I would have got him on the field more than I did… He needs to take that next step.”<\/p>\n

McCaffrey will be 30 when the season starts and will become one of nine players in the past 20 years to be coming off a season with 400-plus touches in a season. After the season, McCaffrey called 2025 “one of the hardest years of my life” after overcoming his own knee and Achilles injuries from 2024 and then handling such a heavy workload upon his return.<\/p>\n

The goal now, according to Shanahan, is to make sure 2026 doesn’t fall into that same category.<\/p>\n

“Christian had an unbelievable year last year,” Shanahan said. “But he definitely needs help.”br\/]<\/p>\n

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