49ers narrowly won Christian McCaffrey trade competition over two NFL teams
The 49ers won the bidding war for one of the best offensive weapons in football, but it came at a cost.
Christian McCaffrey officially is a member of the 49ers. The star running back landed in Santa Clara Friday morning, less than 15 miles away from his alma mater Stanford, and immediately expressed his excitement to be back in the Bay.
Coach Kyle Shanahan was all smiles in discussing the blockbuster trade during a radio interview Friday morning.
However, things could have taken a very different turn. And the expression on Shanahan's face would have been much different if things didn't happen the way they did.
Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer said he received three hard offers for McCaffrey.
"It was close, but San Francisco won out," Fitterer said during a press conference on Friday.
San Francisco's division rival, the Los Angeles Rams, was one of the teams pursuing the 26-year-old running back, but in an off-the-field competition between the two teams, the 49ers ultimately ended up on top.
It is unclear who the other team involved was, although it was reported last week that in addition to the 49ers and Rams, the Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos also were interested in acquiring McCaffrey.
However, Denver never made a serious offer, and Bills GM Brandon Beane reportedly was protecting his team's first-round pick, per NFL insider Jonathan Jones.
The 49ers sent Carolina their 2023 second-, third- and fourth-round picks plus a fifth-round pick in 2024 in exchange for McCaffrey.
And while the trade could be seen as risky, Shanahan, 49ers general manager John Lynch and the rest of the team have the utmost confidence they made the right move.
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