Running back Christian McCaffrey is fully recovered from the Achilles\u2019 and knee injuries that limited him to just four games last season in a major boost to the Niners.<\/p>\n
McCaffrey took part in the first team practice open to the media this season on Thursday, showing no ill effects from the injuries that led to a frustrating 2024 season.<\/p>\n
\u201cChristian is as ready as any player I\u2019ve ever been around,\u201d coach Kyle Shanahan said. \u201cWhen he gets hurt, he\u2019s got to rehab and get better. Right now he\u2019s healthy as can be. We\u2019ve got to kind of protect him from himself, but Christian has a good idea of what he needs to do right now. He\u2019s doing a lot less than he normally would do, but I know he is excited on how healthy he feels and the fact that he can get out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
McCaffrey looked like his old self in drills, showing the speed and explosiveness that helped him win AP Offensive Player of the Year in 2023.<\/p>\n
McCaffrey skipped the voluntary portion of the offseason last year awaiting a new contract and barely got any time on the field. He went down early in training camp with Achilles\u2019 tendinitis that sidelined him for the first eight games.<\/p>\n
He returned and played four games before injuring his right knee<\/a> in Week 13 in Buffalo, then missed the final five games.<\/p>\n He rushed for just 202 yards on 50 carries in four games and was unable to match his sensational 2023 season. The Niners hope having a healthy McCaffrey will help them bounce back from a 6-11 season in 2024.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s still really good at football, so that\u2019s exciting,\u201d tight end George Kittle said. \u201cOne year removed from being Offensive Player of the Year. Still very good at football, looks great. \u2026 Having Christian out there is awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n McCaffrey won the award after leading the NFL with 2,023 yards from scrimmage and tying for the league lead with 21 touchdowns.<\/p>\n McCaffrey had missed just one game combined in 2022-23 \u2014 a meaningless Week 18 game in the 2023 season for San Francisco when he had a sore calf \u2014 after missing 23 games because of injuries in his final two full seasons with Carolina.<\/p>\n The Niners have had good attendance this offseason thanks in part to getting lucrative contract extensions done early with stars Kittle, quarterback Brock Purdy and linebacker Fred Warner.<\/p>\n That\u2019s in sharp contrast to recent years when contract disputes didn\u2019t get resolved until after the start of training camp or later.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a huge fan of getting all the things done early,\u201d Kittle said. \u201cI\u2019m glad they decided to do that. That\u2019s awesome for us because now we have everybody in the building that\u2019s just focused on playing football, and focusing on just getting a little bit better every single day. I\u2019m huge fan us getting them all done. It\u2019s good for football because now all we\u2019re focused on is football.\u201d<\/p>\n The one notable absence has been star left tackle Trent Williams, who took part in the start of the offseason program but has been away the past couple of weeks. Shanahan said he expected Williams back soon with mandatory minicamp starting June 10.<\/p>\n Injury updates<\/p>\n The Niners have several players still recovering from injuries and not taking part in the start of offseason practices, including receiver Brandon Aiyuk (knee) and safety Malik Mustapha (knee).<\/p>\n Shanahan also said that safety Ji\u2019Ayir Brown had ankle surgery in the offseason and will be out until training camp. Receiver Ricky Pearsall injured his hamstring during offseason workouts and likely won\u2019t be ready until training camp.<\/p>\n Rookies Alfred Collins (calf) and Marques Sigle (unknown) also are currently sidelined with injuries.<\/p>\n Defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos is also away from the team awaiting the birth of his child.<\/p>\n An early Seahawks 53-man roster projection for 2025<\/a><\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/SeattleSportsEmail-830x100-1.jpg\")
\t