NFC Notes: Christian McCaffrey, 49ers, Rams

49ers RB Christian McCaffrey hardly missed a beat after being traded to San Francisco midseason last year. So his teammates point out it’s easy to forget McCaffrey was learning the offense as he went. With a full offseason in the system, their expectations for McCaffrey in 2023 are even higher. 

“Christian’s so smart, so sharp,” 49ers LT Trent Williams said via ESPN’s Dan Graziano. “It’s kind of mind-blowing. Some of the things he’s able to do are just uncanny. You can’t teach it. Like, the route-running, the patience as a runner, the vision as a runner in between the tackles. And now that he understands this offense, and the way to ride the wave and pressing one gap at a time. … I mean, he caught on like that, but now he has a different understanding of it because he’s been able to sit back and watch tape all offseason and study. So now he understands the blocking schemes. Now, pre-snap, he knows where the play is designed to go, but he’s smart enough to play it true. And that’s the hardest thing in this offense. Because the cutback lane’s so big, as a young running back, you get the ball and kind of start looking for the cutback, as opposed to knowing that the cutback is only open if you stretch the front side.”

49ers

According to 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan, retired veteran QB Philip Rivers was indeed ready to come out of retirement to be the quarterback for San Francisco during last year’s playoffs.

“He was prepared to,” Shanahan said, via Nick Wagoner of ESPN. “Now that’s stuff we talked about throughout the whole year. We would’ve had to have seen how that was for the Super Bowl, but that was the plan most of the year.”

“I heard from a couple of teams, just kind of checking in,” Rivers told AL.com. “I didn’t contact anyone and I’m not going anywhere. I think maybe some teams, with some guys going down, may have been just looking for a contingency plan.”

Rams

• Rams HC Sean McVay said OT Rob Havenstein is fine after sustaining a neck stinger in Thursday’s practice, via Jourdan Rodrigue.