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New updates in NFLPA collusion suit against NFL<\/p>\n
The NFLPA is appealing the results of its collusion suit against the NFL. But the union seemed to bury it initially.<\/p>\n
A run of three consecutive conference championship appearances and two straight NFC West titles all came crashing down last season for the San Francisco 49ers. Which leads to the question: Has the 49ers\u2019 Super Bowl window closed?<\/p>\n
The answer to the question might depend on health.<\/p>\n
The 49ers were ravaged by injuries a season ago. A total of 16 players ended the year on injured reserve as the team limped to a 6-11 record and last place finish in the NFC West.<\/p>\n
Running back Christian McCaffrey, the 49ers\u2019 best skill position player, was one of the most notable players hurt during San Francisco\u2019s injury plagued season. He missed San Francisco\u2019s first eight games due to calf and Achilles injuries<\/a>. He returned in November yet sustained a season-ending PCL injury in Week 12<\/a>.<\/p>\n Injuries aren\u2019t new to McCaffrey. He was limited to only 10 games from 2020-2021 because of injuries when he was on the Carolina Panthers before being traded to San Francisco in 2022. \u00a0<\/p>\n McCaffrey is one of the best running backs in the NFL when healthy (and popular fantasy football pick). Can the 29-year-old running back evade the injury bug this season?<\/p>\n As the 49ers prepare for training camp, McCaffrey says he\u2019s healthy.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel great. This offseason, I\u2019ve spent a lot of time building back a base (and) starting from scratch. A lot of it was rehab,\u201d McCaffrey said at 49ers\u2019 minicamp. \u201cI wanted to put myself in a position where I didn\u2019t miss a day of OTAs and I could practice and play football again, be healthy and not miss a day. I did that and now it\u2019s kind of kick back up the training again. I feel great.\u201d<\/p>\n The 49ers need McCaffrey to return to his 2023 form where he led league in rushing yards (1,459), touches (339), yards from scrimmage (2,023) and touchdowns from scrimmage (21) on the way to winning the 2023 NFL Offensive Player of the Year award. San Francisco lost several key players this offseason, a list that includes Dre Greenlaw, Charvarius Ward, Deebo Samuel, Talanoa Hufanga, Javon Hargrave and Leonard Floyd<\/p>\n San Francisco\u2019s roster shakeup puts more of an onus on the team\u2019s star players such as McCaffrey to perform at a high level if the club wants to return to being a playoff contender. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou guys saw in 2023 how important he is to what we want to be as an offense. He\u2019s an elite player and we\u2019re going to do everything we can to get him the ball, as much as we can. And yeah, his health is really important. He\u2019s one of our central players on offense,\u201d 49ers offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak said this offseason. \u201cWe want to hand him the ball, we want to throw him the ball, how he changes defenses when he\u2019s on the field for how they have to play us in certain coverages, right? Putting more guys in the box to stop the run, it has an effect on the opponents.\u201d<\/p>\n Can the 49ers get vintage McCaffrey in 2025? Head coach Kyle Shanahan is optimistic.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is a psycho in a good way and so like he does everything imaginable every single day,\u201d Shanahan said in June. \u201cLast year he couldn\u2019t because he was battling injury all last year. And this year he is healthy, so he is right back to being who he is always been and it\u2019s really fun to watch.\u201d<\/p>\n Is the demise of the 49ers premature? The 49ers have the NFL\u2019s easiest strength of schedule based on their opponents\u2019 winning percentage from 2024<\/a>. And if McCaffrey and the team\u2019s other core players can stay healthy, it might be too soon to write them off.<\/p>\n Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon on X\u00a0@TheTylerDragon<\/a>.<\/p>\n