It was a lazy, hot summer day in Santa Clara, Calif., with San Francisco 49ers fans in attendance realizing that a training camp practice is not all that exciting. The staffer in charge of tunes put on a 30-year-old classic, and almost on cue, running back Christian McCaffrey started high-stepping.
Return of the Mack (Oh my God) / You know that I’ll be back (Here I am) / Return of the Mack (Once again)
At this point, McCaffrey was well on his way back from calf, Achilles and knee injuries that derailed his 2024 season, and the song was fitting. But he was not, by any means, dancing to celebrate his return. He was locked in.
McCaffrey is always locked in. He probably does high knee bends on his way to the meeting rooms, kitchen and to re-swaddle his baby girl at night.
“He is a psycho in a good way,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said.
McCaffrey never stops, and his return has helped spark a 2-0 start for the 49ers heading into the home opener against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. He is tied for the NFL lead in receiving yards by running backs with 125 and also has a receiving touchdown and 124 yards rushing. After all the last-minute intrigue of a calf tweak and whether he would play in the season opener, McCaffrey led the NFL in Week 1 with 31 touches.
People with special, uncharted amounts of drive don’t waste much time describing it. But we gave it a shot anyway.
“I don’t know, man. I just approach life that way, and I love football,” McCaffrey said, smiling, before practice Wednesday. “It comes out of love. I work really hard because I love what I do.
“I feel like I’m the luckiest guy on the planet. I get to play football in the NFL with some of my best friends.”
The 49ers have a core of star players, and McCaffrey has pulled aside some of those friends, including quarterback Brock Purdy, to remind them of this precious window they have right now.
“You’ve got a limited time to do this, so you might as well give your all,” he said. “You can relax and all that stuff when you’re done. … I really do love it. It’s a special sport, and it’s really fun when it’s played the right way, but it takes a lot of work.”
McCaffrey, a year removed from being the Offensive Player of the Year, missed 13 games last season and, at one point early this spring, told Shanahan, “I’m back.”
That’s according to Shanahan; McCaffrey has no recollection of it.
“I probably told him that,” McCaffrey said. “I always look at it like that. Any time you’re stepping on a football field, you need to have full confidence in yourself coming in.”
His teammates couldn’t have more confidence than when he is on the field with them.
The 49ers are 25-8 with McCaffrey in the lineup and 5-9 in the games he has missed since trading for him in 2022. Better yet, San Francisco is 16-1 in games in which McCaffrey has 16 or more carries and 9-7 when he doesn’t. Last Sunday, in New Orleans, the 49ers analytics team said McCaffrey turned in his most efficient game — yards gained over expectation — as a 49er, according to general manager John Lynch.
“Getting in and out of cuts, running hard, he’s back to the McCaffrey that we all know,” Purdy said. “And then mentally, he’s on one, like he’s ready to play a whole season and go hard.”
McCaffrey was telling teammates all spring and summer that he couldn’t wait for the season to start. And then, early on in training camp, left tackle Trent Williams was one of the first to sound warning alarms around the league: McCaffrey was indeed back.
Christian McCaffrey has looked healthy and fresh despite a calf injury scare before Week 1. (Sean Gardner / Getty Images)
“He looks like Offense Player of the Year Christian,” Williams said. “So that’s really, really refreshing to see, knowing what he had to deal with last year, just the little nicks and knacks and not being able to do what he loves. To see him out there this year 100 percent healthy, treating every play like it’s his last, playing with his hair on fire.
“It really motivates the guys when you got a generational talent that brings it to work and to practice every day.”
Williams said McCaffrey is the first player in the facility and the last one out every day. One time, Williams asked to see the running back’s weekly regimen.
“It’s nothing short of what I would call exhausting,” Williams said. “He’s up early, working on his body. Combine that with him being a student of the game and having all that athletic ability, and you get a generational talent like Christian McCaffrey.”
McCaffrey had 2,023 total yards and 21 touchdowns in leading the 49ers to the Super Bowl in 2023. On the list of things that make him special, don’t forget vision. Or speed, twitchiness, balance, toughness and great hands.
“He sees a lot of things other running backs don’t,” right tackle Colton McKivitz said. “And then he just explodes. You can feel his presence when he’s in there and when he is not.
“It gives us another little edge of confidence knowing that if we’re not perfect on our assignments, he’s going to make a guy miss or just make an incredible play.”
McCaffrey is tough enough as a runner that it doesn’t seem fair to defenses when he lines up in the slot or outside as a receiver.
Last week, two Saints defenders in zone coverage were mesmerized by McCaffrey on third-and-14, even though McCaffrey merely chipped the defensive end and then barely moved. It freed up Ricky Pearsall to break inside for a first-down catch.
When the plays were going to him, McCaffrey delivered. Just before halftime, he beat a defensive back on a corner route and made a touchdown grab by the sideline.
Picture perfect 🤩
📺 FOX
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— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) September 14, 2025
On third-and-10 early in the fourth quarter, McCaffrey motioned five steps to his right from the backfield, then ran a comeback route, sprinting straight at linebacker Pete Werner and slamming on the brakes to turn around for a 13-yard catch. It wasn’t the sort of route you’d call for just any running back.
Shanahan said McCaffrey is “by far” the best route-running back he’s had in 21 years of NFL coaching.
“That means a lot coming from him,” McCaffrey said. “I take a lot of pride in that. I work really hard at it. That was something my dad instilled in us, me and all my brothers, at an early age. Especially in this era, it can help you so much as a running back when you’re a threat in the passing game.”
Ed McCaffrey played 13 seasons as a receiver in the NFL, winning three Super Bowls and earning one Pro Bowl nod, after starring at Stanford, alongside Lynch. The 5-foot-11 Christian was always a running back growing up in the Denver area, for a couple of reasons.
“The running back got the ball,” Christian McCaffrey said. “I wanted the ball, so I started as a running back, and I didn’t grow to, like, 6-2 or 6-3 like my brothers did, so I just stayed there.”
His dad still recaps the game film with him every week. “He has so much wisdom that he can give me so many little pointers that you know can help,” McCaffrey said.
He must have enjoyed the comeback on third-and-10.
“Yeah, it was good,” McCaffrey said. “He had no notes on that one.”
For a guy who’s admittedly a little obsessive and hates to be tackled, McCaffrey also has a silly side. Hey, The Terminator also had a sense of humor.
“He is just a lot of fun to be in the huddle with,” McKivitz said. “He’s always cracking jokes.”
It’s a momentary break, and then it’s all business when McCaffrey walks towards the line of scrimmage. And there are definitely no smiles when he is asked to come out of the game for a series.
“We always talk about limiting his workload,” Lynch said. “We’re not so good at executing it because he doesn’t like coming off the field.”
McCaffrey’s respect for the game and desire to be the best — and to win — take over. That and his faith.
“I think there is a lot that drives me each week,” McCaffrey said. “Ultimately, I think God gave me an ability, and as a believer, I feel like it’s my duty and honor if I want to be a vessel and be somebody that honors those gifts to maximize those.
“That’s really where it comes from. Am I doing everything possible?”
(Top photo: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)