Panthers Trade Christian McCaffrey To 49ers For Picks As NFL Season Woes Continue

KEY POINTS

The Panthers have traded Christian McCaffrey to the 49ers as their season continues to sputter
The 49ers garner a quality player that Kyle Shanahan had his eyes on since 2017
A rebuilding phase beckons for the Panthers

The Carolina Panthers are off to an atrocious start and changes are needed.

Unfortunately, it includes the immediate solution of having to give up one of their reliable players in Christian McCaffrey in exchange for draft picks.

The San Francisco 49ers gave up their second, third and fourth-round picks in 2023 and a fifth-round pick in 2024.

This comes roughly a week after the Panthers fired Matt Rhule and then hinted that they would be open to deals involving their best player as the 26-year-old running back will now take his act to the 49ers.

The reported NFL trade also comes not long after Carolina had dealt away a disgruntled Robbie Anderson to the Arizona Cardinals.

The Panthers technically announced the departure of McCaffrey on social media, thanking him for his services.

Carolina is 1-5 so far this NFL season.

They lost their last assignment to the Los Angeles Rams, 10-24. After that, McCaffrey made his mind known and said, "All I want to do is win."

He hopes to get that chance with the Niners who are 3-3 so far this season.

San Francisco is tied at the top of the NFC West with the Rams and Seattle Seahawks.

The 49ers should get some mileage out of the No. 8 overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft as he was one of the most productive backs in the NFL.

In 2019, the Colorado native surpassed 1,000 yards, rushing (1,035) and receiving (1,005), becoming only the third player in NFL history to achieve the feat.

However, injuries have also hampered McCaffrey's run, a reason why he played in only three games in 2020 and seven in 2021.

So far this season before he was dealt to the Niners, the Pro Bowler has played in all six games for the Panthers and in 85% of the team's snaps.

McAffrey's arrival will also aid the Niners' running game.

Moreover, he will get the chance to play under head coach Kyle Shanahan, the same coach who almost drafted him in 2017.

It will also be a homecoming of sorts since McAffrey played college football at Stanford.

With McAffrey now gone, Carolina will turn to Chuba Hubbard and D'Onta Foreman for rushing duties.