‘Jacked' Christian McCaffrey Comeback Campaign Gets Major San Francisco 49ers Update
Erstwhile superstar running back Christian McCaffrey was in 2024 active for just four games ... a downturn that adds to his reputation as a brilliant but "injury-prone'' All-Pro.
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That cannot be ignored by the public or by the San Francisco 49ers.
But the work ethic is "psycho''-level, his coach says.
And the photo does not lie.
Add it up and there is increasing optimism that "CMC" can return to an MVP-caliber level in 2025.
As the 49ers prepare to roll into training camp, McCaffrey has spoken about his process in the gym.
"I think this offseason I spent a lot of time kind of building back a base, starting from scratch," McCaffrey said.
"So, a lot of it was rehab, and I wanted to put myself in a position where I didn't miss a day of OTAs and I could practice, play football again, be healthy and not miss a day. And I did that, and now we can kind of kick back up the training again. But I feel great."
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McCaffrey, 29, has played less than 10 games in half of the seasons he's been in the league. He has had his fair share of rehab programs and detailed what he's learned most about how to recover.
"I've had a lot of people tell me as you get older you need to do less. I think there's a middle ground with that statement," McCaffrey said. "For me, it's kind of a constant evaluation of where your body's at and what you need.
"You put a lot of trust in other people -- your trainer, your treatment people, people at the facility. If you follow their plans and you like where it's going and you start to feel good, you're constantly evaluating where you're at and trusting the whole offseason process."
McCaffrey has been one of the hardest working players during 49ers offseason activities, and that work ethic is being noticed by the leaders of the team. ...and by recent workout partners Luka McCaffrey (his brother) and Bijan Robinson of the Falcons ...
And yeah, he looks pretty jacked.
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Head coach Kyle Shanahan noted how McCaffrey's diligent rehab will be the determining factor in him returning to the All-Pro level he showed during his last full season in 2023.
'If I said it, I'd be making up because Christian is — I mean, he is a psycho in a good way and so like he does everything imaginable every single day,' Shanahan told reporters, via the team transcript.
"Last year he couldn't because he was battling injury all last year. And this year he is healthy, so he is right back to being who he is always been and it's really fun to watch.'
McCaffrey earned Offensive Player of the Year honors two seasons ago in powering the 49ers to the Super Bowl. Last year on the sidelines, the team was not nearly as successful.
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There is a long road to go, but this update from McCaffrey is enough to make Niners fans forget about last season's faults and spark excitement for 2025.
Related: 49ers Ranking Reveals Key Factor in Return to Contention
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 1, 2025, where it first appeared.
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USA Today
9 minutes ago
- USA Today
NFL rookies to watch: Ashton Jeanty headlines most explosive players in 2025
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New York Times
13 minutes ago
- New York Times
NBA projects 7 percent growth for cap
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New York Times
18 minutes ago
- New York Times
A fresh milestone for Clayton Kershaw tonight? Plus, Ken Rosenthal's All-Star picks
The Windup Newsletter ⚾ | This is The Athletic's MLB newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Windup directly in your inbox. Clayton Kershaw is on the doorstep of an exclusive club — will he close the door behind him? Plus: Ken's All-Star squad, our Trade Deadline Urgency Index moves to version 2.0, and I sure hope those 24 baseballs were worth it, man. I'm Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal — welcome to The Windup! As old men of the game go, Clayton Kershaw is hardly in Rich Hill territory — Hill is 45 and on a minor-league deal with the Royals. But while time is the most inevitable source of wear and tear, there are others. How about innings pitched? Kershaw, 37, has pitched 2,781 1/3 (Hill is at 1,409). That total trails only Justin Verlander (3,483 1/3, 42 years old) and Max Scherzer (2,891, 40). It's the same order for active strikeout leaders — Verlander has 3,471 and Scherzer has 3,419. Kershaw, who will start tonight's game against the White Sox, currently sits at 2,997. Barring some catastrophe, No. 3,000 should come tonight. Sure, strikeout rates are significantly higher now than they were in the days of Nolan Ryan, Bob Gibson and others. But among the retired members of the 3,000-K club, here are some pertinent averages: Seasons: 21.53 Innings per season: 212.43 Last year, not a single big-league pitcher threw 212 innings — only four reached 200. And that's to say nothing of the fact that it's now borderline routine for starting pitchers to lose a full season to Tommy John surgery at some point in their career. Sure, it's a different game (more strikeouts) now. It's also a different game (fewer innings pitched). Is Kershaw *ahem* the last of his kind? From my latest column: I've picked my 64 All-Stars. As always, I'm adhering to the rule that every club must be represented and that each All-Star team must feature 20 position players and 12 pitchers, at least three of whom are relievers. Readers will howl over this injustice or that, but by now, everyone should know better. Advertisement Even the league's official announcement of the full rosters Sunday should only be considered a first draft. Players will bow out because of injuries, real and imagined, pitchers starts and other issues, real and imagined. A year ago, 77 players — nearly one-tenth of the league — were named All-Stars. If your favorite gets snubbed, just wait. He will still be only one phone call away from heading to Atlanta. In making my choices, I was largely governed by what I wrote a year ago: I'm something of an Entertainment Truther. Yes, I try to honor first-half performance. But let's not forget, this game is a promotional vehicle, not a declaration of WAR. I want the biggest names, the rising stars, the players most likely to evoke oohs and aahs. Of course some will find inconsistencies in my choices, but life is full of inconsistencies. I won't pretend this list is perfect. Consider it merely a starting point for whatever argument you want to make, about any player you want to make. My starters are denoted by asterisks. All statistics cited are through the end of June. As always, your vitriol is welcome in replies to this email or at my X handle, @Ken_Rosenthal. AMERICAN LEAGUE Starting pitchers *Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers Hunter Brown, Houston Astros Max Fried, New York Yankees Garret Crochet, Boston Red Sox Jacob deGrom, Texas Rangers Kris Bubic, Kansas City Royals Shane Smith, Chicago White Sox Notable omissions: Seth Lugo, Kansas City Royals; Drew Rasmussen, Tampa Bay Rays; Carlos Rodón, New York Yankees; Joe Ryan, Minnesota Twins; Framber Valdez, Houston Astros; Bryan Woo, Seattle Mariners. Rasmussen, who has overcome three major elbow surgeries to rank ninth in the AL in ERA, would be an inspired selection. But I chose Smith, a Rule 5 pick who was fantastic until his three most recent starts, over first baseman/third baseman Miguel Vargas, who recovered well from a difficult first month. Neither is particularly deserving, but every team must be represented, by golly, so here we are. See the rest of the list here. Public service announcement: The trade deadline is 29 days away. Today's Trade Deadline Urgency Index (2.0) takes a look at who needs what the most, and what's changed since version 1.0. A few notes: More deadline analysis: On Monday night in Arizona, a fan reached over the wall to swipe a (maybe?) home run hit by Giants third baseman Christian Koss. Initially ruled fan interference — resulting in an out call — replay review determined the fan had not actually touched Diamondbacks center fielder Tim Tawa. It was ruled a double. A home run would have tied the game. But the run never scored. The Giants lost 4-2. Advertisement Clips of the play made the rounds on social media, leading to the discovery that this was not the fan's first indiscretion at the outfield wall. The guy's name is Dave McCaskill, and apparently he has a reputation for doing this. From this story by Doug Haller and Andrew Baggarly: '(McCaskill) said he had caught 24 home run balls during his time as a Diamondbacks season ticket holder. Some of those have prompted umpire reviews for potential interference. Including Monday night, he said he had been ejected from the park twice …' One instance of over-exuberance is understandable. But c'mon, man. You can't keep doing that. McCaskill did apologize to team security as he was escorted from the field Monday. But the Diamondbacks had seen enough. 'This particular fan … is prohibited from returning to Chase Field for the remainder of 2025. This fan will have the opportunity to return to Chase Field in 2026 so long as he meets certain terms and abides by our Fan Code of Conduct.' Hope the baseballs were worth it? I love old baseball cards. So I absolutely loved this story by Michael Salfino about the case of the mystery missing baseball card — that didn't exist until customer demand forced it into existence. Jazz Chisholm Jr. is an above-average second baseman and a below-average third baseman. So why are the Yankees keeping him there to accommodate an ineffective DJ LeMahieu? Another bad-news day for the Astros: Days after Jeremy Peña suffered a rib fracture, Yordan Alvarez was supposed to ramp up his rehab process today. Instead, he's seeing a hand specialist after a setback. Yesterday, we told you about a bizarre Orioles-Rangers game that resulted in Jack Leiter taking an 11th-inning at-bat. Last night, I spoke to Leiter and manager Bruce Bochy about how that unexpected process played out. The Giants' struggles won't cost manager Bob Melvin his job: The team has exercised its option on his 2026 contract. Yesterday was Bobby Bonilla Day. Salutations to all who celebrate. Jenna West and Dan Shanoff explain the contract, why deferrals happen and tell us about a few other notable deferrals. Brooks Peck hands out some entertaining superlatives for the various bobblehead giveaways around baseball this year. Steve Soderstrom's big-league career lasted just 10 days with the Giants in 1996. It makes him appreciate his son Tyler's career with the A's even more. Advertisement On the pods: The 'Rates & Barrels' crew looks at the three division leaders in the NL and checks in on the Nats' rebuild. Most-clicked in our last newsletter: Evan Drellich's story on Rob Manfred's plan for CBA negotiations. 📫 Love The Windup? Check out The Athletic's other newsletters.
