Google News Kyle Shanahan weighs in on 49ers beating out Rams in trade for Christian McCaffrey
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San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan admits that keeping Christian McCaffrey from the Los Angeles Rams can also be considered as a win in some ways. This week, the Carolina Panthers agreed to trade former All-Pro running back McCaffrey to the 49ers.
After realizing that the 49ers and Rams badly wanted to acquire McCaffrey, the Panthers got the two teams into a bidding war. In the end, the Panthers traded McCaffrey to the 49ers, who gave up a second, third, and fourth-round picks in the 2023 draft plus a fifth round pick in the 2024 NFL draft.
"I mean, it's definitely a bonus," Shanahan said about McCaffrey joining the 49ers over the Rams, per ESPN. "I think everybody would love the opportunity to have a player like Christian, but it's also nice to keep a good player away from the team that we have to compete with year in and year out.
So that definitely helps."
Some felt the 49ers gave up too many picks for McCaffrey
The running back position has become pretty expandable in recent years, and McCaffrey often being hampered by injuries doesn't help either.
Some feel that the 49ers trading for McCaffrey could end up as a either really great decision or as a really bad move. 49ers general manager John Lynch admitted that he and the rest of the management are aware that his trade is a gamble in some ways.
"Everything is a gamble," Lynch told reporters. "Hopefully, it's a well-thought-out gamble, and you put a lot of thought into it. I know we have. I'd also say, I believe like a lot of really good players, he's a lot more than just a running back.
I think he's a perfect player for the way Kyle [Shanahan] and our offensive staff does things. I think he brings a lot more than just running back skills. He's an incredibly accomplished receiver. He's got tremendous feel. He can play with speed, he can play with power, he can play with quickness.
He can do it all. And we've seen that firsthand playing against him. You've seen it right up to the last game he played. He's an excellent football player. There's no denying that and we like adding guys like that to the mix." This Sunday, the 49ers are playing the Kansas City Chiefs.
For McCaffrey, it would be great to start his tenure in San Francisco with a good outing versus the Chiefs.
