The 49ers acquired Christian McCaffrey in hopes he’ll provide a spark and versatility to their scuffling offense. McCaffrey, an already accomplished running back in the NFL, brings more than a diverse skill set. He told reporters after Thursday’s practice that he brings a chip on his shoulder as well.
McCaffrey emphasized to reporters that his first priority is winning, but that doesn’t make the sting of being traded go away.
“I want to win,” McCaffrey said via the Bay Area News Group’s Cam Inman “I want to win for this team. I want to win for these guys, and I want to win for the whole Bay Area. Like you said, they gave up a lot to get me and I know that. And so it’s not extra pressure, but it’s definitely a sense of urgency on my plate that I want to win. I got traded, so, yeah I’ve got a chip on my shoulder.”
It probably wasn’t going to take additional motivation for McCaffrey to thrive with San Francisco. He’s leaving a bad Panthers team to join a club in the thick of a division race. He’s also joining perhaps the most talented team he’s been a part of since coming into the league in 2017. However, the 49ers surely won’t complain if McCaffrey brings an extra edge with him to the Bay Area.
He played well in his truncated debut against the Chiefs, and now he’ll enter a Week 8 game against the Rams with the entire 49ers game plan at his disposal. With Deebo Samuel potentially sidelined or hampered by hamstring injury, McCaffery could get ample opportunity to show out in his first full game post-trade.
