San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey has grown into one of the most consistent performers in the NFL. If the star running back were to enter free agency, everyone needing a boost in their rushing attack would jump at the chance. But despite the huge upside he brings, McCaffrey is one of the senior players in the league. Even though the RB is in his prime in terms of performance, offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak is planning to make a tough decision.

“It is challenging, because you’re talking about a player who does not want to come off the field,” Kubiak said about the McCaffrey situation. “But when you look around the league, and you study great backs, and you study guys who affect the game like he does, those guys do come out of the game. Those guys do get a blow sometimes. Whether it’s a drive or a couple plays in a series, it helps those players.

“Christian knows that, and we got to do a better job as coaches. We got to do a better job at times of getting a better rotation. We got back young backs that we want to get more production out of.

 

Kubiak’s comments come after McCaffrey led the NFL with 413 touches last season and rushed for 1,202 yards in the regular season. He also had an NFL-high 339 touches in 2023 while ranking second in the league in yards per carry (5.4). And, McCaffrey was the Offensive Player of the Year that season. He’s going to turn 30 this year, but he remains an anchor in the Niners’ run game. But, this is also the age when RBs of his caliber start phasing out.

Usually, they become limited by their own physicality, being weakened with age. McCaffrey already missed 13 games in 2024 after suffering a pedal Achilles sprain and a knee PCL sprain. He won the Comeback Player of the Year award in 2025 for playing as if he’d never missed a beat. But the bigger question is about McCaffrey being sustainable as the leading rusher for the team post-30. Coaches will eventually have to swallow the tough pill of forcing such players to the background.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan will eventually have to make this decision because the 49ers did draft RB Kaelon Black in the 2026 draft. The former Indiana Hoosiers star never got to start a game last season, but rushed for 1,040 rushing yards and scored 10 touchdowns on 186 carries. This was a surprising pick in the draft, but Shanahan said that he was the “second-rated back on the board” for the team. With hopes this high for a rookie, it is evident that Christian McCaffrey will not get the usual amount of snaps.

Behind the veteran, there are also Jordan James, Issac Guerendo, and Brian Robinson Jr.  They were drafted in 2025, 2024, and 2022 respectively. McCaffrey, on the other hand, has been in the league since 2017 and has been leading the rushing attack for the Niners for four years now. Even if McCaffrey doesn’t want to, it is time he steps back.

Kaelon Black, in particular, is gearing up to kick up a storm as a rookie.

I gotta prove my coach right: Black is ready for his 49ers debut

But despite this scrutiny, Black wants to prove these doubters and live up to the expectations set by the 49ers.

“It makes me want to go harder,” Black said, per Bleacher Report. “I gotta prove my coach right. I’d be lying if I said I haven’t seen the backlash that he’s been getting for the pick, but we just stay the course, we stay focused, and we’re going to keep moving and try to prove him right.”

Shanahan also said in his defense of drafting Black that the team had to “get someone to help” Christian McCaffrey, so that he can “be as good as he can be” all year. But that “good” will still be less than what the veteran is used to, for the remainder of his career.

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