SANTA CLARA – A happy Christian McCaffrey is about to complete “the cycle” for his family business with his three brothers.
Monday night, McCaffrey will lead the 49ers (5-0) against his youngest brother, Luke, and the Washington Commanders (1-3-1).
“He’s the only brother I’ve never gotten to play with or against, so this completes the cycle of sharing the field with one,” Christian, the 49ers’ offensive dynamo, said Thursday. “I know it’s different uniforms but I’m proud of everything he’s done and I’m excited to see him.”
Luke McCaffrey is scrapping through his third season with the Commanders. Active only two games so far, he’s overshadowed on the depth chart by veterans Terry McLaurin and Stefon Diggs.
“It’s the first time I’ve been able to play against him. It’ll be cool just to share the field,” Christian added. “Obviously there’s nostalgia with that, going back to Little League or high school.”
The McCaffrey boys cycled through Valor Christian High in Highlands Ranch, Colo. When Christian was a senior, younger brother Dylan was a freshman.
Two months ago, at the 49ers’ joint practice with the host Los Angeles Chargers, Christian reunited with older brother, Max, who is the running backs coach under Jim Harbaugh. (Christian was on the 49ers’ Injured Reserve list when they won in December 2024 at Miami, where Max was a Dolphins assistant.)
Another checkmark in the family circle came Oct. 4, when Christian played (and scored) in his first-ever game against the Denver Broncos, whom his father, Ed, played for from 1995-2003 after being part of the 1994 49ers Super Bowl-winning squad.
Want more McCaffrey personal information? It’s been quite a family-oriented couple of months for Christian McCaffrey. On Sept. 29, his wife, Oliva Culpo, gave birth to their son, Roman; they, along with 15-month-old daughter Colette, are at their offseason home in Los Angeles with his year-old daughter, Colette. “Don’t tell her but I’m sleeping fantastic,” Christian said.
He’s still playing fantastic, too, and with a relatively lighter workload — 80 touches so far compared to 108 a year ago through Week 5.
His 2026 stats: 61 carries, 286 yards, five touchdowns; 19 catches, 137 yards. Last season, en route to a NFL-high 413 touches, his five-game totals were 69 carries (282 yards, no TDs) and 39 catches (390 yards, three TDs).
So who do his parents, Ed and Lisa, root for in this one? “I don’t know what they’re going to do. They might just go all-black neutral,” Christian said of his parents’ wardrobe.
MORE FAMILY TIES
Making his Bay Area debut in the NFL is Washington Commanders’ assistant running backs coach Jesse Madden, a grandson of Pro Football Hall of Fame coach and former broadcaster John Madden.
Commanders’ third-year general manager Adam Peters previously worked as the 49ers’ assistant general manager and graduated from Monta Vista High-Cupertino.
Dan Quinn, the Commanders’ coach, got his NFL start with the 49ers as a quality control coach in 2021 under Steve Mariucci. Quinn spent four seasons with the Niners before eventually parlaying his role as Seahawks defensive coordinator 2013-14 to his first NFL head-coaching role with Atlanta in 2015, with Kyle Shanahan as his offensive coordinator.