The San Francisco 49ers are banking on Christian McCaffrey to be healthy during the 2025 NFL season. After losing several key pieces on both sides of the ball this offseason, the return of the former Offensive Player of the Year should mask many of the team's issues.
Luckily, McCaffrey has looked like himself during training camp thus far, and on Thursday, The Athletic's Vic Tafur reported that he put together a strong performance against the Denver Broncos during joint practices.
While McCaffrey is tapping back into his old self, however, the running back room is crumbling around him. Earlier this week, it was revealed that backup Isaac Guerendo would miss several weeks with a shoulder injury. The room got another bad break on Thursday.
Promising 49ers rookie RB Jordan James will be sidelined multiple weeks with injury
During his press conference following joint practices with the Broncos, head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed that fifth-round rookie running back Jordan James would also miss a couple of weeks with a broken finger.
After initially feeling confident about the team's depth behind McCaffrey should he suffer another injury, all of a sudden, the health of the team's depth pieces is now the issue. Behind McCaffrey, the team now has Patrick Taylor Jr., undrafted free agent Corey Kiner and recent signing Ameer Abdullah.
Taylor has just 104 NFL carries under his belt, but has averaged 4.3 yards per rush in four seasons. Abdullah filled in admirably for Zamir White and Alexander Mattison in Las Vegas last season, and he brings a strong element in the passing game like McCaffrey does.
RELATED:49ers release former 1st-round pick as part of latest roster moves
Kiner is an intriguing prospect from Cincinnati who ran for over 1,000 yards in each of his last two collegiate seasons. He is a bit more similar to James in stature than he is Guerendo, so he will have his work cut out for him filling that role.
Ideally, both James and Guerendo can be back for the very start of the season, if not soon after. However, this is valuable practice time and live-game action that the team's two young running backs are missing.
If McCaffrey can stay healthy in 2025, then that will solve the bulk of the team's offensive issues. However, the 49ers may need to lean even harder on the injury-prone player now with two key backups sidelined, which could be a recipe for disaster.
More 49ers news and analysis