San Francisco sports fans are used to hearing cryptic rhetoric regarding the trade deadline. It’s not just football, they heard it all summer when now former Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said that the Giants primary “deadline moves” would be getting healthier and adding already rostered talent to their active platoon.
49ers general manager John Lynch echoed that sentiment last week ahead of the November 5 deadline, except when he says it, it carries a lot more weight. The 49ers will be adding Christian McCaffrey this week, an addition so valuable that it has swayed betting lines both for Sunday’s game in Tampa and for overall postseason futures. Not too far behind him, we hope, will be the return of Dre Greenlaw. Another invaluable addition that is much needed if SF’s defense is to round into its typical form by December and January.
The fact that John Lynch and his team were relatively quiet at the deadline, only acquiring defensive line depth in exchange for minimal draft capital, should show fans that SF is very confident in its returning stars’ ability to contribute at a high level once they hit the field in short order.
Having Christian McCaffrey back in the equation unlocks bounds of joyful offensive options for Kyle Shanahan and the Niners. He is, of course, a tough runner, with explosive speed and a knack for attacking the smallest of holes and making them look like gaping voids. He’s a dynamic weapon in the passing game too. Murph and Markus discussed the impactful depth of his return on Wednesday morning, highlighting the importance he has as a pass catcher out of the backfield.
When defenses have to worry about defending McCaffrey the receiver, they can’t drape the 49ers receivers with sticky man coverage. When they’re forced into a zone scheme, Shanahan and Purdy can pull them apart at the seams with an elite play action game.
For the last handful of weeks, the only McCaffrey news has been positive. Which was a welcome change of pace from the late summer doom cycle that made it look at times like the superstar running back would be shelved for the entirety of the 2024 season.
Now that it looks like McCaffrey will suit up and make his campaign debut in Tampa on Sunday, the question becomes just how much will 23 see the field. He certainly won’t be taking on a late 2023-esque workload, but Shanahan was understandably noncommittal when asked how many times McCaffrey will tote the rock.
