49ers Vow to Reduce Christian McCaffrey's Workload Whether He Wants That Or Not

Perhaps the only person around the San Francisco 49ers not worried about the heavy workload that All-Pro Christian McCaffrey handled last season is McCaffrey himself.

While Kyle Shanahan and the rest of the coaching staff have expressed a need to reduce McCaffrey's usage after his 450-touch campaign in the 2025 regular season and playoffs, McCaffrey doesn't see a need for load management.

"I’ve been dealing with those questions for nine years it feels like," McCaffrey said. "I think the workload in our sport is really monitored in practice, not in games. We play 17 regular-season games a year and everybody’s livelihoods are on the line. I would say on Sunday you’ve got to do whatever it takes to win and that’s not a coach’s job. You don’t tell a 3-point shooter you only get six 3s today. So much of it is rhythmic and it’s my job to put my body in the best position I can to go out there and play. I think everything else can be monitored during the week. ... But when it comes to game days, I like to think, prepare yourself for playing every snap."

McCaffrey nearly did that last season when he led all running backs by playing in 83% of offensive snaps for the 49ers. McCaffrey hardly ever asks for a break and running backs coach Bobby Turner kept calling his number.

"It’s challenging," Turner said. "But I should have personally done a better job of managing that last year, because I do keep a tally on every play and aware when he’s in, when he isn’t. But this year, the coaching staff, they will all be involved in making sure that doesn’t happen."

McCaffrey had 272 rushing attempts in 2023, when he led the league in rushing yards, but played in just four games in 2024 before rebounding with an NFL-leading 413 touches from