Recently, the San Francisco 49ers' 2025 season came to an end with a crushing 41-6 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC divisional round. Ultimately, the 49ers' sheer amount of injuries became too much to overcome in this contest, with several key players missing this game.
One of the few key players who was in the lineup for the 49ers in this one was running back Christian McCaffrey, who had a strong season this year after missing most of the 2024 campaign due to injury.
Recently, McCaffrey joined an exclusive list in NFL history with his nominations for various league awards this year, being nominated as a finalist for MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, and Comeback Player of the Year all in the same season. The only two other players to accomplish that feat were Adrian Peterson in 2012 with the Minnesota Vikings and Joe Burrow in 2024 with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Mike Triplett of NewOrleans.Football then added some context to the news.
“Drew Brees finished 2nd in all three of these in 2006 after returning from shoulder surgery. But I don’t think they announced finalists back then. Still ridiculous Brees wasn’t the Comeback Player that year because he never technically missed a game (injury happened in Week 17),” he reported on X.
Overall, McCaffrey certainly seems to be a deserving candidate for all three of those awards for his performance during the 2025 season. As previously mentioned, he was sidelined for virtually all of the 2024 campaign, which allows him to meet the threshold for consideration for the Comeback Player of the Year award.
He also singlehandedly carried the 49ers' offense at times both on the ground and through the air as a receiver, which makes him a worthy candidate for both the Offensive Player of the Year and league MVP awards.
The NFL award winners are slated to be announced are slated to be announced in early February.
