New San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak spoke with reporters on Thursday as first-year players reported for rookie minicamp. The 49ers are looking to rebound from an injury-riddled 2024 season that ended with just six wins. Among the key players sidelined was star running back Christian McCaffrey, who appeared in only four games.
McCaffrey missed the start of the season due to Achilles tendinitis and later landed on injured reserve with a posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injury. Now fully healthy, the team is hopeful the All-Pro back can return to his 2023 NFL Offensive Player of the Year form, when he racked up 2,023 scrimmage yards and 21 total touchdowns.
"You guys saw in 2023 how important he is to what we want to be as an offense," Kubiak told reporters. "He's an elite player, and we're going to do everything we can to give him the ball as much as we can. And yeah, his health is really important. He's one of our central players on offense. We want to hand him the ball, we want to throw him the ball.
"How he changes defenses when he's on the field, for how they have to play us in certain coverages, putting more guys in the box to stop the run, like it has an effect on the opponents.
"Christian's doing great. He looks awesome, and we're pumped up that he's out there working every day. So I look forward to getting him back out there full time."
Now entering his ninth NFL season, McCaffrey is under contract through 2027. He was limited to just 202 rushing yards and did not score a touchdown in 2024, but the 49ers are counting on a bounce-back campaign in 2025.
Kubiak also emphasized the importance of managing McCaffrey's workload in the future, both in practice and on game days. However, he admits that it can sometimes be challenging for multiple reasons.
"You've got to be cognizant of how much they're out there," Kubiak said. "Christian's a really hard guy to take off the field, for a lot of reasons. One, because he's a great player, but two, because he does not want to come out. Sometimes there's a battle.
"You've just got to balance those things out. You've got to be aware of it. Sometimes, you've got to pull him off the field every now and then. But that's part of what makes him a great player, is he's so competitive and he wants to be out there. But it's on us as coaches to try to do the best we can to balance it out."