The San Francisco 49ers missed the playoffs in 2024, and they didn’t look good doing it.
Injuries played a big part in their struggles, but the 49ers mustered just a 6-11 record one season after falling in overtime to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII.
Star running back Christian McCaffrey ended up missing all but four games due to multiple injury issues, prompting the team to rely on backup Jordan Mason for most of the season.
McCaffrey started off the season dealing with Achilles tendonitis in both legs, and when he made his return to the field, he suffered an injury to his PCL.
In the four games he played, McCaffrey carried the ball 50 times for 202 yards and he wasn’t nearly as effective as he was during his Offensive Player of the Year season in 2023..
With the 49ers losing several top players including linebacker Dre Greenlaw, safety Talanoa Hufanga and defensive end Leonard Floyd in free agency, former NFL player and current ESPN analyst Ryan Clark revealed that he thinks San Francisco should trade McCaffrey and embrace a rebuild.
San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.
Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
During an appearance on “Get Up” on Wednesday, Clark made his case for why the 49ers should move on from McCaffrey and get as much as possible in a trade for him.
“I would absolutely trade Christian McCaffrey,” Clark said. “…If you look at what Kyle Shanahan has been able to do it’s run the football. I know we thought last year they missed some of the things with the versatility of Christian McCaffrey, but when you (cut Kyle) Juszczyk, you let some of that versatility go, you let some of the things you can do formationally go.
“So why not change your entire philosophy from thinking about Christian McCaffrey as this Swiss-army knife, getting pieces for him and allowing guys like Ricky Pearsall to touch the football more…adding other players based not he assets you could get for him?”
49ers fans didn’t taken kindly to Clark’s opinion, and they reacted very strongly on social media to the idea.
“I would absolutely trade Christian McCaffrey. … If you’re going to rebuild, rebuild completely.” 👀
—@Realrclark25 on the 49ers’ offseason outlook pic.twitter.com/Zu3vZaEMrY
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) March 12, 2025
McCaffrey will look to regain his form from 2023 and help lead the 49ers back to the playoffs as he recovers from his multiple ailments.
He’s just two years removed from rushing for 1,459 yards and 14 touchdowns on 272 carries while averaging 5.4 yards per attempt and adding 67 catches for 564 yards and seven more scores through the air.