Will Christian McCaffrey play this week? How will the 49ers lineup look after the trade? After the blockbuster deal, there’s a lot to unravel.
NFL playing baseball or basketball is not a common pre-trade deadline impression. We’re used to seeing big-ticket deals from MLB and the NBA when it comes to contenders participating in fire sales in an attempt to complete the championship roster.
The San Francisco 49ers licked their fingers again and threw a peeling draft pick at a team for what its brass considered to be the final piece of the Super Bowl puzzle. The Niners sent a draft pick to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for superstar running back Christian McCaffrey, completing a blockbuster not often seen in the NFL.
Of course, the 49ers are no strangers to trade deadlines involving players in key skill positions. Nearly five years on today, San Francisco traded a package of draft picks to the New England Patriots for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
Jimmy G is still at center — albeit in odd and unexpected circumstances — and he now has a bunch of absolute studs around him. McCaffrey’s offense already has George Kittle, Debbie Samuel, Brand Ayuk and a slew of talented running backs all under offensive wizard Kyle Shanahan .
What did the 49ers get for Christian McCaffrey?
John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan gave up a sizable deal to get McCaffrey. San Francisco didn’t give up any first-round picks in the trade, but did send nearly half of the incoming draft class to Carolina. and a fourth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and a fifth-round pick from the Panthers in 2024.
According to ESPN’s Adam Shaft, San Francisco got some help with the trade. Unlikely place – leaving coaches Robert Salah and Mike McDaniel..
” Helps 49ers close trade for Christian McCaffrey The thing is, they got six additional third-round compensatory picks for them, having lost Robert Saleh to the Jets and Mike McDaniel to the Dolphins in the recent offseason, Lost Martin Mayhew to the commanders,” Shefter reported after news of the trade broke.
San Francisco 49ers 2023 draft pick after CMC trade
When you look at the aftermath remaining The news from Schefter became quite important when the draft funds were traded for McCaffrey. San Francisco is out of a 2023 first-round pick that was part of a package that helped acquire Trey Lance two years ago.
This is what the 49ers’ draft picks look like in the next few years:
2023
- 3rd round pick
- 3rd round pick
- 7th round pick
- Round 7 selection
3rd round pick
2024
First-round pick
Third round pick
- 4th round pick
- 5th round pick
Round 67th round pick
49 after CMC trade Man running back depth chart
With McCaffrey on board, the 49ers running back depth chart is a bit crowded. Jeff Wilson takes on a bigger role after Elijah Mitchell’s injury.
- RB1: Christian McCaffrey
- RB2: Jeff Wilson
- RB 3: Elijah Mitchell Er
- RB4: Tevin Coleman
- RB5: Tyrion David Price
- RB6: Jordan Mason
It’s unlikely that the Niners will bring all of these running backs to the active roster. Chances are, Shanahan’s team will consist of CMC, Wilson, and Mitchell, with Coleman likely to be involved as well.
Remember, the Niners have an additional unofficial running back, Deebo Samuel, who is often taken out of the backcourt as part of Shanahan’s plan.
49ers roster: Will Christian McCaffrey play this week?
Thursday’s trade boosts McCaffrey’s chances of making his Week 7 debut with the 49ers. San Francisco’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs was high profile and tough and using McCaffrey in that game was exactly the kind of situation they traded for him.
McCaffrey is expected to play Sunday and appear in the red zone pack, according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network.
New #49ers RB Christian McCaffrey, who has spoken to coach Kyle Shanahan and team brass, heads to Hi’s new home tomorrow. If he plays on Sunday, which he will likely do, expect the red zone package. Then he will start there.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 21, 2022
This is also good news for those who have CMC in fantasy football who want to Know if they should start him and if doing so will result in points. Given the potential of a high-scoring game, the odds of McCaffrey having an immediate impact on the Nines seem high.
Christian McCaffrey contract: Will the 49ers be able to keep him long-term?
While the NFL’s trade deadline used to be little more than a day on the league calendar, recent years have seen a surge in blockbuster deals. Von Miller was traded at last year’s deadline, which dates back to the Vikings trading Percy Haven back to the Seahawks
But unlike baseball, which may have the most The famous and craziest trade deadline, McCaffrey’s deal isn’t a deal for the Panthers to move an expiring contract to a contender. San Francisco signed McCaffrey to a deal for another three seasons, which means he will play with the Nines through 2025.
Good news if you’re a 49ers fan. The bad news is that McCaffrey is in the middle of a big-ticket extension that Carolina is offering him, which means the next three years will be costly. But it’s a bridge that management will cross from next year, as CMC’s prorated contract this year has very little :
#49ers owe only Christian for rest of 2022 season · McCaffrey $690,000. His annual salary is $12 million in 2023, $12 million in 2024, and $12.2 million in 2025, with only $1 million guaranteed.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 21, 2022
Salary cap for the 49ers in 2023
Now that McCaffrey is in the picture, the question of how it fits into the 49ers’ salary cap comes into play.
Before the McCaffrey trade, the Niners had $4,868,159 in cap space this season and $27,909,109 next season, according to OverTheCap.com. One major variable is Jimmy Garoppolo, who many believe will play elsewhere in 2023 and thus won’t be as big on the books as this year.
San Francisco essentially replaced the Jimmy G hat with McCaffrey’s hat.
- $19.6 million in 2023
- $19.6 million in 2024
- $15.5 million in 2025 USD
Jimmy G’s earnings capped at $13.9 million this season , so the future hits McCaffrey more than that, but about the same in terms of figuring out how to make the books work. Under the current contract structure, San Francisco is projected to have $64,080,924 in cap space through 2024, but the McCaffrey trade changes that in more than one way.
The Niners signed a $64 million deal with the Panthers, but his addition means San Francisco will need to secure a key spot to win the Super Bowl over the next three years talent.
Good news for 49ers fans: McCaffrey, Fred Warner, Trent Williams, George Kittle, Debbie Samuel and Trey Lance are both under contract through 2025, giving Shanahan a terrific core to fill the void around him.
- RB2: Jeff Wilson