At a time when NFL groups have thumbed their noses on the working again place, the San Francisco 49ers and Christian McCaffrey stay an outlier out there.
The 49ers went towards the grain throughout the 2022 season once they dedicated vital draft belongings (second-, third- and fourth-round picks in 2023 and a 2024 fifth-rounder) to commerce for him from the Carolina Panthers. The Niners continued that on Tuesday once they signed him to a two-year contract extension that may pay him greater than $19 million per season and make him the highest-paid participant within the league on the place.
The rising pattern throughout the NFL in recent times has been to pick working backs on day two of the draft, run them into the bottom on their rookie contracts after which repeat the method when it comes time for his or her subsequent contract.
The 49ers should not doing that with McCaffrey, committing to him past his age-30 season and regardless of him placing vital mileage on his physique all through his profession.
It is a testomony to how particular of a participant McCaffrey is — and the way necessary he’s to the 49ers offense.
He is not solely a dynamic runner and among the best within the league in relation to truly working the ball, he’s additionally a significant cog within the 49ers passing sport. He has the flexibility to line up within the backfield, within the slot, out large and just about anyplace on the offense and make an influence.
The 2023 season was the second time in his profession that he has led the league in yards from scrimmage and the second time he has led the league in complete touchdowns. He is without doubt one of the primary cogs that makes the 49ers offensive machine run and is a superb safety blanket for quarterback Brock Purdy.
The 49ers are paying him as such.
There’s a hazard in sports activities in relation to being too dedicated to developments. For many gamers and groups, it makes vital monetary sense to churn via younger, low-cost working backs and proceed to herald contemporary gamers each few years. However there are all the time exceptions to those issues, and the actually elite gamers have a tendency to face out above the remainder.
McCaffrey is a kind of gamers, and his significance to the 49ers can’t be overstated. He’s a game-changer for them, and they’re smart to verify they preserve him. Even when it comes on the expense of one other key participant on the offense in future seasons.
