The San Francisco 49ers shocked the NFL world in around the 2022 NFL trade deadline when they acquired running back Christian McCaffrey from the Carolina Panthers for three picks in the 2023 NFL draft and another in 2024.
McCaffrey had made two Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams during his time in Carolina while proving to be one of the best dual threat backs in the league, rushing for 3,980 yards and 32 touchdowns on 4.6 yards per carry and catching 390 passes for another 3,292 yards and 18 touchdowns.
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However, when the Panthers were trading McCaffrey midway through 2022, the former first-round pick out of Stanford thought he was going to a different team in the NFC West.
“I was prepping to play that Sunday, and it’s a confusing mindset to be in when there is that looming over your shoulder,” McCaffrey said this week. “That week was a weird week for me. It’s hard not to hear the talks around you about it, but I really jus tried to lock in and focus on practice, focus on meetings. I didn’t know what was gonna happen, but I wanted to play on Sunday. I didn’t know where it was gonna be, but I knew I was gonna play.
“I had to lock back in and focus on what I had to do to play in an NFL football game on that Sunday. I said it, but I thought I was going to the Rams just because that’s what I had heard. And then, my agent had called me and told me I was going to the Niners. That’s kind of how that week went.”
McCaffrey has been a great addition for San Francisco over the last 3+ years. He’s rushed for 3,114 yards and 26 touchdowns on 4.6 yards per carry and caught 208 passes for 1,906 yards and 16 touchdowns. In 2023, he made his third Pro Bowl and All-Pro team while earning Offensive Player of the Year honors.
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The 49ers will take on the Panthers this weekend, and it will be McCaffrey first time playing his former team. He should have some extra juice for this one.
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This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey believed he was traded to division rival
