The 2026 offseason has seen running back value skyrocket on new contracts, which in turn has dropped San Francisco 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey out of the top-five. As McCaffrey continues to battle offseason injuries, some are starting to wonder if his absence from training camp has less to do with pain and more to do with money.
Amid speculation that McCaffrey is having a quiet holdout, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan quickly dismissed such notions. Speaking to the media, Shanahan said that people are making too many assumptions that are wrong. He then declared that if the 49ers had to play a regular season game this week, McCaffrey would be playing.
“I think they make a lot of assumptions and that would be one that they’re wrong on,” Shanahan said. “I think if it wasn’t Christian and we were in a game week, I think he would play today.”
When healthy, McCaffrey ranks among not only the best running backs in the league, but among the best of a generation. In five of the six seasons where he’s played at least 16 games, he’s finished the year with over 1,800 yards from scrimmage and gone over 2,000 in three such seasons.
That said, those 16-game seasons have been interrupted by several years where he’s played less than half of a season. Since 2020 he’s missed 37 games and is frequently on the injury report.
© Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images.
As far as the money goes, McCaffrey is currently earning around $12 million per year. That’s good for sixth in the NFL. While it may feel like he should be higher up on the list, the only player making substantially more right now is Saquon Barkley at $18 million per year. Everyone else is within $1.5 million of his current salary.
Is the situation with McCaffrey being blown out of proportion, or should it be taken more seriously?
