In October of 2022, the San Francisco 49ers made a bold move that no one saw coming, as they were able to pull off a blockbuster trade with the Carolina Panthers to acquire superstar running back Christian McCaffrey.
The trade sent shockwaves throughout the NFL, as it signaled that the 49ers were serious about being a title contender in the NFC, bringing in arguably one of the best running backs in the league to add to an already talented offense, which also had one of the elite tight ends in the league in George Kittle.
George Kittle Reflects on Christian McCaffrey Trade
Ahead of the 49ers’ Week 12 matchup against the Panthers, Kittle was asked about the McCaffrey trade during media availability in the locker room on Saturday. The superstar tight end remembers the moment he heard about the trade quite clearly, with one of his closest friends letting him know he was now teammates with the Stanford product.
“I was playing video games with all my friends from back home and one of them said, ‘Hey, you just traded for Christian McCaffrey,'” Kittle said. “I was like, ‘Funny joke.’ And then they said, ‘No, look it up.’ I called him immediately, and he said I was the first person to call him before Kyle [Shanahan] and John [Lynch] did. … It was a fantastic moment for me. I was pretty excited.”
A few years later, the 49ers’ trading for McCaffrey has paid off, as he was able to take his game to another level after arriving in San Francisco, with the 2023 NFL season being the best season of the superstar running back’s professional career.
Although McCaffrey only played in four games during the following season due to injury, the running back’s performance in 2023 was remarkable, as he was virtually unstoppable on the football field, racking up 2023 yards from scrimmage and scoring 21 total touchdowns, which were both league-best totals.
McCaffrey looks back to form this season, as he’s leading the league in yards from scrimmage with 1,439 heading into Week 12. He’s also scored 11 touchdowns so far, six on the ground and five receiving.
Christian McCaffrey Opens Up on Panthers Trade to 49ers
With McCaffrey set to take on his old team on Monday Night Football, he reflected on getting traded to the 49ers and what it meant for him, via Scott Fowler of The Charlotte Observer.
“Getting traded to San Francisco has opened my eyes to so much,” McCaffrey said. “It was a massive blessing… But it was also a bittersweet moment for me at the time. I loved Charlotte. I loved Carolina… I loved my teammates. I was a captain on that team. And so it’s weird when you get traded in the middle of the year. But when I look back on my journey and what’s transpired since then, I can’t help but look back and just be so grateful for the opportunity to come to San Fran and also call this place home.”
It’ll be interesting to see if McCaffrey turns it up a notch when he faces the team that trades him, especially with the 49ers needing to keep racking up wins while competing in arguably the toughest division in the NFL this season in the NFC West.
