49ers' Kyle Shanahan reveals Christian McCaffrey plan amid 'wear and tear' concerns

The San Francisco 49ers dealt with too many injuries last season, with Brock Purdy, Ricky Pearsall, George Kittle, Mykel Williams, Fred Warner, Nick Bosa, and plenty of others all dealing with injuries that led to missed games in 2025.

But, amid all of those injuries, Christian McCaffrey, who has dealt with injury issues in recent years, was spared. He played all season long and even got his career-high in touches with 413 on the year.

That's not what the 49ers want to do in 2026. According to Vic Tafur of The Athletic, Kyle Shanahan revealed the team's plan with McCaffrey, and it involves concerns about his "wear and tear," which will lead to a less-involved workload for CMC in 2026.

49ers reveal plan for Christian McCaffrey in 2026

"Kyle Shanahan knows he said it before, but this year he said he really means it: Less wear and tear on Christian McCaffrey next season. More rest," Tafur reports.

On 102 catches and 311 rushing attempts, McCaffrey had 1,202 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns to go with 924 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns.

He had 413 touches last season, the most for a single-season in his career, and the most in the NFL as well. He was a first-team All-Pro, won Comeback Player of the Year, and was top-five in MVP and Offensive Player of the Year voting.

But Shanahan doesn't want such a season to repeat in 2026. He's worried about the "wear and tear" for McCaffrey, and based on his injury history, this isn't a big surprise.

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In both the prior seasons where he led the league in touches (2019 and 2023), the following season saw McCaffrey fail to reach 100 touches on the year.

After 2019, he played in just three games in 2020 and only seven in 2021. Then, after 2023, he played in only four games in 2024 as he dealt with Achilles issues.

The 49ers relied on McCaffrey a lot in 2025, and that's not something that Shanahan wants to repeat in 2026. He'll still get plenty of work, but it would not be a surprise if the 49ers offense didn't go through McCaffrey as it has in the past.

Shanahan has made such proclamations before, but now that CMC is coming off such a high-usage season, there's no better time to practice caution than now.

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