49ers HC Kyle Shanahan Plans to Reduce Christian McCaffrey’s Workload

McCaffrey went on to win the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award, recognizing his remarkable bounce-back after the challenges he faced the previous season.

While the season drew high praise from Shanahan, he admitted injuries elsewhere on the roster left the team with little choice but to rely heavily on McCaffrey. However, he was adamant that in 2026, the team will look to reduce the running back’s snap count.

“Christian had an unbelievable year last year, but he definitely needs help,” Shanahan said at the NFL Annual Meeting.

“We went into the year wanting to take care of him a little bit more. But the way the offense went, I think more with the receivers and the injuries that we had, it was hard to get him off (the field). And it was cool to have him out there because he did help our offense so much.

“With the health issues we had with receivers last year, the guys in and out, we were still able to be a top-five passing team,” Shanahan said. “I think that had to do with Christian being on the field.

“The hardest thing last year was when you had a game plan in the pass game predicated around a running back and the backup doesn’t have the same skillset.

“In order for us to be the running team we want to be, and in order to have Christian be as good as he needs to be throughout the year, we got to get him some help.”

McCaffrey cannot afford a repeat of the heavy workload in 2026, or his explosiveness could decline even further. When comparing his 2023 season to 2025, his yards per carry dropped from 5.0 to 3.9, signaling a big drop in efficiency. Keeping him fresh will be crucial.