Subscribe
Follow Us
The San Francisco 49ers are a bit on the young side for 2025. But they still have a solid head coach. And here are the two hottest takes coming out of the 49ers' 2025 minicamp.
All eyes seem to be on Christian McCaffrey this season. And why not? When the running back is on the field, he’s a difference-maker with few peers. But he played only four games last season, and the 49ers suffered for it. The good news comes in the form of better health at this point for McCaffrey.
49ers RB Christian McCaffrey hoping to bounce back
The eight-year veteran got the nod from Pro Football Focus as the 49ers’ make-or-break player for 2025.
“Just one year removed from being arguably the best running back in football, McCaffrey endured a disaster of a 2024 season,” Dalton Wasserman wrote. “He appeared in just four games due to injury and earned a career-low 71.3 PFF overall grade.
“If McCaffrey performs like the player who was the highest-graded qualified running back in the NFL across 2022 and 2023, then San Francisco has a playoff-caliber offense. If the injuries persist or have sapped his explosiveness, there will be serious questions about McCaffrey’s future.”
It’s part of the story with McCaffrey. The ability to change games is clear. The ability to play in games isn’t always quite as evident. However, McCaffey said he’s good this summer, according to 49erswebzone.com.
“I feel great,” McCaffrey said. “This offseason, I spent a lot of time kind of building back a base, starting from scratch. So a lot of it was rehab. And I wanted to put myself in a position where I didn't miss a day of OTAs, and I could practice and play football again. And be healthy, and not miss a day. I did that, and now, we can kind of kick back up the training again. But I feel great.”
McCaffrey said he doesn’t put much stock into what people say about his internal drive that might cause him to run his body down.
Article Continues Below
“I don't think about that,” McCaffrey said. “My job is to put my body in the best position it can to go out there and be me. Everything else it's a lot of noise, and sometimes, there's a lot of different things going on. My job is just to go 100% every play and continue to get better. I just try to focus on that.
“It's funny, I've had a lot of people tell me that as you get older, you need to do less. I think there's just a middle ground with that statement. And so, for me, it's kind of a constant evaluation of where your body's at and what you need. And you put a lot of trust in other people, in your trainer, your treatment people, the guys at the facility.”
QB Brock Purdy draws praise from defensive coordinator
Things didn’t work out in New York for Robert Saleh, but he’s back with the 49ers. And perhaps he’s glad he doesn’t have to game plan against Purdy, who is getting paid like one of the league’s best.
“I think highly of him, I really do,” Saleh said. “He is really good. You get jaded sometimes, I think. When you're looking at certain players for a certain amount of time, and as a new face coming in, and seeing Brock, I'm like, ‘Son of a gun is pretty damn good.’ To where, ‘I could see where you get so used to seeing it,' it becomes a standard, and you're always trying to elevate it.
“Not every head coach—or not every organization—is able to look at their quarterback and compare it to Brock. Brock is a damn good quarterback. I'm trying not to talk poorly on other quarterbacks around the league, but he is one of the better ones.”
Purdy’s contract has been a source of debate across the NFL. But teammate George Kittle said Purdy deserves the bag of cash, according to The Rich Eisen Show via Sports Illustrated.
“I don't know what his winning percentage is,” Kittle said. “But when you win a lot of games and you only need two years to go to the NFC championship or better, I think that's decent. One of my favorite things that I've heard is everyone calls him a checkdown merchant. And then, the last two years, he's had the least amount of checkdowns as a starting quarterback. So I think he's doing pretty well.”
