Christian McCaffrey doesn't sound too worried about his heavy workload this season. The running back played all 57 offensive snaps on Sunday in the San Francisco 49ers' 30-23 win over the Los Angeles Rams. Through two games this season, McCaffrey has played 115 snaps.
The only other running back (not counting fullback Kyle Juszczyk) who has been on the field for the Niners this season is Elijah Mitchell, who played 10 snaps in Week 1.
On Tuesday, McCaffrey spoke about his lopsided workload, with one reporter asking what he considers the "sweet spot" for playing time.
"I think it's all dependent on how the game's going," McCaffrey said (h/t Alex Espinoza of 95.7 The Game). "We had a lot of breaks last game. Sometimes, that's just how it goes. There's gonna be games, too, where Mitchell gets four or five carries in a row on multiple drives because he's playing well, and he's feeling it, and I'll be out.
"It's really such a situational thing. I don't think it's ever a plan for us to get all the carries or not. It's just sometimes that's just how the games go."
CMC responds to the chatter surrounding his heavy workload pic.twitter.com/riEqvlgTQU
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) September 19, 2023
Head coach Kyle Shanahan didn't plan on exclusively using McCaffrey this past weekend against the Rams, admitting that some adjustments might need to be made in the future.
"Yeah, we definitely got to get Elijah in there more and do better with our rotation than we did yesterday," head coach Kyle Shanahan said via a conference call on Monday. "That wasn't the plan going in. It just ended up that way, and I got to make sure that doesn't happen."
McCaffrey rushed for 116 yards on 20 carries (5.8-yard average) and a rushing touchdown against the Rams. His 268 rushing yards this season lead the NFL by an 88-yard margin.
Shanahan added, "For him (Mitchell) not to get in [against the Rams], I definitely should have noticed and asked for him."
