When trade rumors were circulating, there was talk that former Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey could be a nice one-year pickup for a Super Bowl contender looking to add another explosive weapon. Maybe a team like the Buffalo Bills. After all, his remaining salary for 2022 was low, and none of his future money is guaranteed.
This morning, Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer said he received three firm offers for McCaffrey. Trade talks were complicated by teams either not owning a first-round pick or, for those that had one, being unwilling to give it up.
Fitterer: Trade talks were complicated by the fact that a couple teams didn't have a first-round pick (Rams, 49ers), and those that did weren't willing to give them up.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) October 21, 2022
Shockingly, it ended up being the San Francisco 49ers finalizing a trade for the versatile running back. As soon as the terms of the deal were revealed, it was clear that McCaffrey was not a one-year rental. San Francisco sent second-, third-, and fourth-round picks in 2023, plus a fifth-rounder in 2024, to the Panthers to acquire him. You don't surrender that much draft capital for a rental.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan joined KNBR this morning. He was asked to confirm that the 49ers envisioned McCaffrey being on the roster next season and possibly beyond.
"Yes," Shanahan responded on the Murph & Mac show. "This is not a rental. I mean, that's the stuff that is tough too where we did that with Emmanuel (Sanders) in the year (2019) we were trying to make the run. We didn't want it to be a rental. I mean, he was someone we were really hoping to re-sign the next year. But you realize, just going through that, I realized how difficult that is.
"So that was something that you think about in this time. And that was something that, at least for me and definitely John (Lynch), that was so much more enticing, knowing if we got him, just contractually and stuff, he's going to be here. We don't have to be risking this come February."
McCaffrey is under contract through the 2025 season.
You can listen to the entire conversation with Shanahan below.