SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers have acquired star running back Christian McCaffrey from the Carolina Panthers for a series of draft picks.
The Panthers announced the deal Thursday night that returns McCaffrey to the Bay Area where he played at Stanford University. They said it will be finalized when McCaffrey passes a medical.
Stunner: The Panthers are trading Pro-Bowl RB Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for draft picks, sources have told ESPN.
McCaffrey returns to the Bay Area, where he attended Stanford. pic.twitter.com/R474r3eSkv
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 21, 2022
The Panthers will receive picks in the second, third and fourth rounds of the 2023 draft, as well as a fifth round in 2024, according to a person familiar with the terms. The person spoke on condition of anonymity as terms were not announced.
Carolina was looking for a first-round pick, but San Francisco had already handed out its 2023 first-round pick as part of a deal to draft Trey Lance last year.
“I am forever grateful to everyone who has helped make the past 5 1/2 years so special to me,” McCaffrey tweeted Friday morning. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Caroline, I will always love you.”
McCaffrey joins a group of talented playmakers in San Francisco with versatile receiver Deebo Samuel, star tight end George Kittle and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
But the Niners (3-3) weren’t as strong at running back with starter Elijah Mitchell out with a knee injury. McCaffrey provides Coach Kyle Shanahan with one of the best rushers and receivers, adding another element to San Francisco’s offense.
McCaffrey has a salary of $990,000 this year after Carolina reworked his contract, allowing him to easily fall under the salary cap. He is owed about $36 million over the next three years, but none of that is guaranteed.
McCaffrey becomes the second skill-position player to be traded this week by the Panthers (1-5) since coach Matt Rhule was fired Oct. 10. selected.
The trade leaves the already depleted Panthers offense extremely thin at running back with D’Onta Foreman and Chuba Hubbard expected to compete for the starting position and Raheem Blackshear potentially in the mix for more work.
McCaffrey, 26, is considered one of the most versatile running backs in the league when healthy due to his running, receiving and blocking abilities.
He’s missed 23 games in the previous two seasons due to injuries, but has played in all six games this season and is fourth in the NFL in scrimmage yards (607) despite playing for the 32nd offense in the league. the league. He and Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb are the only players in the league to go five games this year with at least 100 yards from scrimmage.
McCaffrey has 7,272 scrimmage yards — 3,980 rushing and 3,292 receiving — and has scored 50 touchdowns since entering the league as the eighth draft pick in 2017.
McCaffrey’s best season came in 2019 with 1,387 rushing yards and 1,005 receiving yards, making him the third player in NFL history to eclipse 1,000 yards in both categories. He also had 19 touchdowns this season and was named an All-Pro.
McCaffrey’s father, Ed, won a Super Bowl with the 49ers in the 1994 season and won two more titles in Denver with Shanahan’s father, Mike, as head coach.
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AP Sports Writer Steve Reed contributed to this report
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