49ers RB Christian McCaffrey said he is close to fully recovered from the knee injury that ended his 2024 season, and added that had San Francisco made the postseason he probably would have played, via Nick Wagoner.
As is, McCaffrey expects to be ready for when OTAs begin in the spring. The goal will be to have a healthier 2025 as opposed to this past season when it never seemed like McCaffrey was healthy at any point, dating back to the spring when his Achilles tendinitis first cropped up.
Speaking of which, McCaffrey told Wagoner his Achilles issue has “100 percent” calmed down and shouldn’t be an issue in 2025 either.
McCaffrey, 28, is a former first-round pick of the Panthers back in 2017. He was entering the final year of his four-year, $17.224 million contract when the Panthers signed him to a new four-year, $64 million contract extension that also included his expected fifth-year option.
Carolina opted to restructure McCaffrey’s deal before trading him to the 49ers in exchange for a 2023 second, third, and fourth-round pick, as well as a fifth-round pick in 2024.
He was due base salaries of $11.8 million and $12 million over the final two years of the deal before signing a new extension in 2024.
In 2024, McCaffrey appeared in four games for the 49ers and rushed for 202 yards on 50 carries (4 YPC) to go along with 15 receptions for 146 yards and no touchdowns.
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