49ers' John Lynch on Christian McCaffrey: Injuries are 'beyond our control'

When the San Francisco 49ers acquired star running back Christian McCaffrey from the Carolina Panthers on Thursday, they landed a versatile offensive weapon who missed a total of 23 regular-season games across the 2020 and 2021 campaigns due to injury issues. 

General manager John Lynch assured reporters Friday the 49ers considered McCaffrey's worrisome injury history before pulling the trigger on the blockbuster transaction. 

"We discussed it all," Lynch said about the deal, per David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone. "... First of all, you've got to look at his history. Coming out of Stanford, really, a pristine health record. The last couple of years have been rough, but it really felt like this year he had reestablished that health."

McCaffrey appeared in all six of Carolina's games this season before the trade and recorded a total of 393 rushing yards and two touchdowns to go along with 33 catches for 277 yards and a score. The 49ers sent the Panthers second, third, and fourth-round draft picks for 2023 and a fifth-round selection in 2024 in exchange for the one-time First-Team All-Pro selection.  

"You can never have complete certainty on that," Lynch added about McCaffrey potentially going down to a physical setback with his new club. "It's beyond our control. But you try to make the best decisions you can. He has played a lot of football this year, and he's played really good football. He's done that throughout his career, and he's an extremely versatile player. He's an explosive football player. He's a smart football player. I could go on and on. And he checks all the boxes."

McCaffrey is campaigning to take the field when the 3-3 49ers host the 4-2 Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, but Lynch insisted such a decision will come down to how head coach Kyle Shanahan feels about his new ball carrier's readiness to play this weekend. 

"We'd sure love to have him, but that's a lot to ask. So we'll make a very thought-out decision on that as well," Lynch explained.