Are Rams Responsible For 49ers Christian McCaffrey Trade?

In October of 2022, the San Francisco 49ers made arguably the biggest NFL trade in recent memory, sending a second, a third, and a fourth-round pick to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for superstar running back Christian McCaffrey. Suffice it to say, in his first full season with the team, the trade has been a tremendous success, with McCaffrey finishing the 2023 regular season as the NFL Offensive Player of the Year, the league rushing leader, making a Pro Bowl, and earning a first-team All-Pro nod. He was also a driving force behind his team winning both a division and a conference title and has his team on the doorstep of a Super Bowl.

Ironically, according to team CEO Jed York, the 49ers’ rival Los Angeles Rams seem to be at least in part responsible for McCaffrey ending up in San Francisco.

“I think (49ers GM John Lynch) and I thought it was just the right amount to give up for Christian,” York said during Super Bowl Week interviews. “And I remember that very vividly where it’s like, ‘Look, it’s not a pass rusher, it’s not a quarterback, but it’s a good player. But do we want to give up that much?” And collectively it was, ‘Do you want him to go to L.A.? This is where we are.'” The Rams, of course, were heavy players in the McCaffrey sweepstakes. Would the 49ers have made the move for McCaffrey regardless of whether or not the Rams were interested in trading for him? Almost certainly yes.

The team already felt like McCaffrey was the missing piece to their Super Bowl quest, and just about every team in the NFL that had a chance threw their hat into the ring for the explosive playmaker.

Nevertheless, York’s reveal of the trade process will now leave a little extra sting for Rams fans, knowing that their team’s chase of McCaffrey could have been the tipping point to the 49ers landing the league’s best offensive player.