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After losing to the Rams in year’s NFC Championship Game, the 49ers beat their arch rival in both teams’ pursuit of former Panthers All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey. San Francisco’s ability to include a 2023 fourth-round pick ended up being what led to the 49ers acquiring McCaffrey over the Rams, as reported by CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones.
Denying the Rams a shot at acquiring McCaffrey is icing on the cake for 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, who had watched San Francisco’s NFC West rival execute several splashy trades over the past several years. This time, it was Shanahan’s team making the big trade.
“I mean, it’s definitely a bonus,” Shanahan said about McCaffrey joining the 49ers over the Rams, via NFL reporter Dov Kleiman. “I think everybody would love the opportunity to have a player like Christian … but it’s also nice to keep a good player away from the team that we have to compete with year in and year out. So that definitely helps.”
While it came at a cost (San Francisco gave the Panthers four future draft picks), the 49ers acquired one of the most dynamic running backs in the NFL. The 26-year-old McCaffrey is off to a good start this season, with 670 all-purpose yards through six games. McCaffrey joins a 49ers team that is 3-3 following this past Sunday’s loss to the Falcons. Despite their .500 record, the 49ers lead the competitive NFC West division (via tiebreaker) entering their Week 7 matchup with the Chiefs. Shanahan said that he is unsure of McCaffrey’s status for Sunday after the former Stanford star practiced with the team for the first time on Friday.
Shanahan said that the ability to acquire a player of McCaffrey’s caliber would have been considered “unheard of” 10-15 years ago. But in recent years, the Rams and other teams have been able to work out head-turning trades before the deadline that have included some of the NFL’s most talented players. Cornerback Jalen Ramsey and receiver Odell Beckham Jr. are two of the big-name players the Rams have been able to acquire before the trade deadline in recent years.
“It’s not just the Rams. We’ve watched a number of teams over the years, since we’ve been here, make trades and stuff,” Shanahan said. “Some work, some don’t. … Any time you have examples; the Rams have given them to us almost every year. I’ve watched other teams who have done it, too. It’s nice to watch people do it and see what’s good and what’s bad from it. I like that it’s not how it used to be in how it was always out of the discussion.”
As Shanahan alluded to, the Rams have helped make big trades involving high-profile players more common in recent years. And while such moves helped Los Angeles win last year’s Super Bowl, it may ultimately assist San Francisco in its quest to win the franchise’s sixth Lombardi Trophy four months from now.
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