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NFL Announces Punishment For 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Cole Sullivan | Last updated Oct 4, 2025 4:22 PM ET

The San Francisco 49ers are coming off a huge Thursday night win over the Los Angeles Rams, despite missing several offensive stars due to injury.

Fortunately for them, they still had Christian McCaffrey, who carried the ball 22 times for 57 yards while adding eight receptions for 82 yards and a receiving touchdown.

While McCaffrey and the 49ers have already closed the book on Week 5, the NFL announced its disciplinary actions from Week 4 on Saturday—and the star running back’s name appeared on the list.

The league fined McCaffrey $23,186 for an unusual reason: lowering his helmet—not as a runner, but as an attempted tackler following an interception thrown by Brock Purdy. The play involved Jaguars linebacker Devin Lloyd, who made the pick.

Check it out:

This is a new one: The NFL fined #49ers star RB Christian McCaffrey $23,186 for use of the helmet on this attempted **tackle** of #Jaguars LB Devin Lloyd last week. pic.twitter.com/vzwHBfa4EG
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 4, 2025

The league has made it clear that any form of taunting, unnecessary roughness, or illegal use of the helmet—especially on potentially dangerous plays like lowering your head to initiate contact—will be subject to punishment. Several players across the league have already fallen victim to those fines through the first four weeks.

Interestingly, out of the 20 players fined this week, McCaffrey and Commanders linebacker Frankie Luvu received the heaviest penalties. Both were the only players to cross the $20,000 threshold.

There were a total of 2,556 plays across the NFL in Week 4, with the 20 fines accounting for just 0.78% of that total.

Players are allowed to appeal these fines, which are reviewed by independent officers. However, for McCaffrey, it doesn’t appear he’ll have to worry about that next week, as nothing from Thursday night’s game should have him bracing for another punishment — though, given how surprising this latest fine was, you never really know.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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