SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Of the many San Francisco 49ers who needed a full offseason to recover from the toll of previous seasons and begin working toward the fresh start in 2025, perhaps none required that extra time more than running back Christian McCaffrey.

In many ways, the 2024 season was a lost one for McCaffrey. Just months after having one of his best years as the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year, McCaffrey’s encore was interrupted by multiple injuries that limited him to only four games. That included bilateral Achilles tendinitis that kept him out the first eight games of the season and a posterior cruciate ligament injury in his right knee that prevented him from playing in the final five games.

As the team foundered in his absence to 6-11, a frustrated McCaffrey set his sights on getting healthy to return to full strength in 2025. Although there’s a long way until San Francisco’s Sept. 7 season opener against the Seattle Seahawks, McCaffrey not only made it through the offseason program with no issues but did so while participating every step of the way.

“Being fully transparent, obviously last year didn’t go the way I wanted,” McCaffrey said. “I didn’t think it went the way anyone wanted but having this time off has allowed me to start from scratch and have the time where I can build a base again, come into OTAs, play football and now get back into it mentally, emotionally, physically, in all ways. It’s been much needed.”

Getting McCaffrey back to full strength is one of the most important developments of the offseason for the 49ers. After saying goodbye to 17 players via trade, release or free agency in March, the Niners infused the roster with some much-needed youth.

With so many young players expected to start or play significant roles, the onus falls on established stars such as McCaffrey to stay healthy, produce at their usual levels and set the standard for the many youngsters watching them intently.

It’s no coincidence that in 37 regular and postseason games since the 49ers traded for McCaffrey in 2022, they are 27-10 while averaging 27.2 points per game when he plays. In the 14 games it’s played without McCaffrey, San Francisco is 5-9 while scoring 24.9 points per game. He finished with just 202 rushing yards, 146 receiving yards and no touchdowns in four games last year.

All of which made McCaffrey’s attendance and participation in the entire offseason program a welcome sight for players and coaches alike, from on-field workouts to mandatory minicamp practices.

“You guys saw in 2023 how important he is to what we want to be as an offense,” offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak said. “He’s an elite player and we’re going to do everything we can to get him the ball as much as we can. … He’s one of our central players on offense. … He looks awesome, and we’re pumped up that he’s out there working every day. So I look forward to getting him back out there full-time.”

That’s something nobody is looking forward to more than McCaffrey himself. After signing a two-year, $38 million contract extension last offseason, he entered training camp seemingly healthy and ready to go.

But McCaffrey only made it through a few practices before he was shut down because of the Achilles issue. Still, both McCaffrey and the Niners believed he would be ready to go for the opener against the New York Jets.

Many were surprised when McCaffrey was a pregame scratch against New York, landed on injured reserve soon after and then didn’t play in any of the seven ensuing games, either. McCaffrey even traveled to Germany in September to visit with a specialist about the nagging Achilles tendinitis.

When he finally returned in November, McCaffrey never quite got on track, though he seemed poised for a potential breakout performance against the Buffalo Bills on Dec. 1. He had seven carries for 53 yards in the snow when he injured his knee early in the second quarter, effectively ending his season.

According to McCaffrey, the knee began to feel fully healed early in the offseason, paving the way for him to have a full offseason to get back into a routine.

“I feel great,” McCaffrey said. “I wanted to put myself in a position where I didn’t miss a day of OTAs and I could practice and play football again, be healthy and not miss a day, and I did that.”

While the Niners had nearly perfect attendance for most of the offseason program, McCaffrey has been a staple at all team activities. During organized team activities and the mandatory minicamp, other accomplished veterans such as tight end George Kittle and left tackle Trent Williams did individual drills but avoided team work.

Not McCaffrey, who would hop into 11-on-11 and take some handoffs and run routes in an effort to rebuild timing and chemistry with his offensive line and quarterback Brock Purdy.

“He is a psycho in a good way and so he does everything imaginable every single day,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “Last year, he couldn’t because he was battling injury all last year. And this year he is healthy, so he is right back to being who he is always been and it’s really fun to watch.”

The task now is to get McCaffrey through training camp at full strength and back to producing at his usual levels when the games begin.

With the offseason program complete, McCaffrey plans to resume his training over the next month-plus in an effort to hit the ground running when camp opens in late July. He also is an expectant father for the first time, as his wife, Olivia, is due in the coming weeks.

Kubiak said the team will try to strike a balance between getting McCaffrey the reps he needs and protecting him from doing too much. For his part, McCaffrey said there’s a “middle ground” between doing less to protect yourself from injury and ensuring you do enough to make sure your body is ready for the rigors of the season.

“Christian is as ready as any player I’ve ever been around,” Shanahan said. “Right now, he’s healthy as can be. We’ve got to kind of protect him from himself, but Christian has a good idea of what he needs to do right now.”