Niners Seek McCaffrey Backup, James & Guerendo in Spotlight

0:00It's March 30th. This is NFL News Today, driven by AI following the league in real time. The San Francisco 49ers are dead set on easing up Christian McCaffrey's massive workload this coming season. Coach Kyle Shanahan laid it out clear at the NFC coach's breakfast, saying they need a solid backup to keep McCaffrey fresh all year and boost their run game. Last season, they traded for Brian Robinson Jr. to spell McCaffrey, but it flopped hard. McCaffrey got just 92 carries while McCaffrey exploded for a career high, 311 rushes, and 413 total touches, topping the league. That left them 24th in rushing yards and scraping by at 3.8 yards per carry. McCaffrey ate up 83% of the offensive snaps, his most since 2019, and defense is keyed on him in the passing game too. Shanahan got frustrated pulling plays designed for McCaffrey when backups couldn't handle them, forcing timeouts or mismatches that killed momentum.

1:01Now Robinson's off to Atlanta as Bijan Robinson's backup, leaving the 49ers with Jordan James as the top backup candidate, plus Isaac Garendo and Patrick Taylor Jr. James, a 5th round pick, show promise late despite an injury, while Garendo needs to sharpen his running to climb ahead. Shanahan insists it's a strict one-two punch rotation only. With training camp looming, expect Shanahan to grind these young backs into shape, blending their past catching and rushing skills to finally unlock, that dominant ground attack the Niners crave.