Rams’ Division Rival’s Star Hopes to Be Healthy in 2025

The Los Angeles Rams know what it's like to be on the receiving end of a dominant ground game, making its mark. They lost in the playoffs last year, largely due to their inability to stop Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles on the ground.

Even before that, they had to deal with Christian McCaffrey and the San Francisco 49ers, seeing them twice a year and being tasked with stopping him from taking over the game. In 2024, they got a break from McCaffrey, and that was a big reason why they were able to sweep the 49ers in the regular season.

In 2025, not only will the 49ers have a significantly easier schedule, but they'll get McCaffrey back, and if he's able to return to form, the 49ers will be a big competitor for the NFC West. The Rams have to be back-to-back divisional winners as the NFC is an ever-changing landscape, and they have to guarantee a spot in the off-season.

Of course, a development for the Rams to monitor will be how McCaffrey bounces back from injury and if he's even able to get back to the player he once was. McCaffrey himself sounded off on how a longer off-season will help his recovery along more smoothly.

"Being fully transparent, obviously, last year didn’t go the way I wanted," McCaffrey said. "It didn’t go the way anyone wanted. But having this time off has allowed me to start from scratch and have the time where I can build a base again, come into OTAs, play football and now get back into it mentally, emotionally, physically in all ways. It was much needed and I’m happy we had it".

The Rams themselves dealt with injuries to key players in 2024, and no team or fanbase wants to see their biggest stars miss time. For his sake, everyone is hoping that he's able to have a full recovery and turn back the clock to the year he won Offensive Player of the Year.

Stopping McCaffrey will be a good test for a Rams defense that is supposed to be revamped and poised to stop the run. If they're unable to do that, it's proof that this Rams team isn't any different than the one in 2024.