McCaffrey's Touchdown: Balancing Workload in 2026

0:00On March 30th last season, the San Francisco 49ers got hammered by injuries, Brock Purdy, Ricky Pearsall, George Kiddell, Fred Warner, Nick Bolsa, and a bunch more Miss Games in 2025. But Christian McCaffrey stayed healthy through it all, playing every snap and hitting a career high for 13 touches, the most in the bleeling that workload paid off big. He rushed for 2,202 yards and 10 touchdowns, caught 102 passes for 924 yards, and 7 scores. Earned first team all pro, come back player of the year, and finish top 5 in MVP and offensive player of the year voting. Looking back though, those heavy touch years have bitten him before. After leading the league and touches in 2019 and 2023, he barely played the next seasons, just three games in 2020, 7 in 2021, and only 4 in 2024 with Achilles' trouble. Now head coach Kyle Shanahan is serious about dialing it back for 2026.

1:01He wants less wear and tear on McCaffrey, more rest builds in even if he still gets solid reps. The offense won't run through him like before. With McCaffrey turning 29 soon, this feels like the smart play to keep him fresh for the long haul and chase that ring. Full ball news, powered by AI. This is NFL News Today.