49ers hope to adjust Christian McCaffrey plan in 2026

After an injury-plagued 2025 season, Christian McCaffrey responded with a remarkable bounce-back 2026 campaign for the San Francisco 49ers, totaling 2,126 scrimmage yards and 17 touchdowns on a league-high 413 touches en route to NFL Comeback Player of the Year honors.

It was a significant workload for the running back, who many predicted might begin to slow down due to the wear and tear of a lengthy NFL career.

Now, the 49ers hope to better manage their star running back's usage in 2026 to improve his chances of staying healthy for another full season.

"Last year was the worst we had been at it," head coach Kyle Shanahan said on the Tom Tolbert Show. "It's one of the most amazing years I have seen by a guy in terms of just heart. The fact that he could get his body ready every Sunday for 17 weeks was amazing to me."

San Francisco leaned heavily on McCaffrey because of the numerous injuries that impacted the roster throughout the season. With instability at several positions, Shanahan often had little choice but to keep his most dynamic offensive weapon on the field.

"And the load he had to carry with all the injuries and stuff, the issues we had at receiver, he was such a pivotal part in the pass game [and] obviously the run game," Shanahan continued. "For him to be able to make it through there was huge."

In an effort to lessen that burden moving forward, the 49ers have continued investing in depth behind McCaffrey. After drafting Jordan James in 2025, San Francisco used a third-round pick this year on running back Kaelon Black. Both players are expected to compete for the primary backup role and could help provide a change-of-pace option that allows McCaffrey more opportunities to rest.

Shanahan made it clear that the organization prefers not to have McCaffrey handling another 400-touch season.

"I want him to have more juice, to be more fresher," Shanahan said. "He doesn't have to take that beating when it's unnecessary. And I'm hoping we can have some other guys step up more this year, so you don't feel like you need him on the field every play.

"Now, he's never going to want to hear that. If you insinuate that, he will be extremely insulted by me, but I hope he truly believes it's for his best because I believe that, and hopefully, we'll be able to do that better this year."