Running back Christian McCaffrey sat down with FOX Sports analyst Greg Olsen, a former Carolina Panther teammate, ahead of Sunday's matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Olsen and Kevin Burkhardt will call the game from the broadcast booth at Levi's Stadium.
McCaffrey arrived with the 49ers via a trade in October, which didn't just surprise fans. It surprised the running back too.
"Honestly, I thought I'd never be traded," McCaffrey told Olsen. "I thought I was going to be a Carolina Panther forever."
San Francisco gave up second-, third-, and fourth-round draft picks in 2023, plus a fifth-rounder in 2024 for the star running back. Does knowing how much was surrendered created added pressure for McCaffrey? Even with a rookie quarterback set to make his first NFL start and play down the stretch, anything short of a Super Bowl win will be deemed a failure. McCaffrey was seen as the missing piece that could put the team over the top.
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"I still feel that [pressure]," McCaffrey admits. "I don't know that I ever won't feel that. They did give up a lot for me, and I do feel that urgency to prove them right. You do feel like a rookie, and it does revive a little bit of a sense of urgency that you haven't felt since your rookie year."
McCaffrey loves playing in Kyle Shanahan's offense and can't believe the head coach has so many playmakers at its disposal. That will help quarterback Brock Purdy as he becomes the starter the rest of the way.
"If I were a play caller, I don't know how he does it but I would be stressed at some point," McCaffrey said. "Like, how do I get everybody the rock?"
Still, McCaffrey doesn't have any regrets. He is happy how things turned out and excited about being a member of the 49ers.
"You can tell that this culture has been built and set for a long time," McCaffrey said. "It's from the top down. When I got traded, I had no idea what I was getting into, but I've been just fortunate. I got lucky."