Christian McCaffrey traded to San Francisco 49ers

The former Cardinal star is on the move

In a deal with the San Francisco 49ers, the Carolina Panthers have traded star running back and former Stanford Cardinal, Christian McCaffrey.

The Panthers sent McCaffrey to San Francisco, who in exchange is sending a second-, third- and fourth-round picks in 2023 and a fifth-round pick in 2024 to the Carolina Panthers according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. 

The trade signals another step in the Panthers major rebuild, and also represents the first time McCaffrey has a chance to be on a winning team. The only other time he was on a winning team in Carolina was his rookie season in 2017,  when Carolina went 11-5.

McCaffrey has been impressive this season racking up 670 yards from scrimmage, with 393 yards rushing, and a team-leading 33 catches for 277 yards. This is a great sign for both McCaffrey and the 49ers as McCaffrey has had his fair share of injury issues in the past missing  23 of 33 games during the 2020 and 2021 seasons after being injury-free his first three seasons.

There was speculation that the Panthers (1-5) might move on from McCaffrey, 26, after they fired Matt Rhule was fired the Monday after the team fell to 1-4, and after star receiver Robby Anderson was traded. 

The other rumored teams to be pursuing McCaffrey were the Buffalo Bills, and surprisingly the 49ers division rival, the Los Angeles Rams.

Once it became apparent Christian McCaffrey was going to be traded before the Nov. 1 deadline, there was urgency on all sides to get a deal done before the #Panthers' next game. The #Rams also made a push, but it's the #49ers who get it done for a package of picks.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 21, 2022

San Francisco plays the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, but due to how close to the game the trade took place, McCaffrey is currently not expected to have a major role.