You never hope for a player to get injured. That doesn't make it any less terrifying when an opposing star looks fully healthy heading into the season.
San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey looks to have fully recovered from the injury that shortened his 2024 season. It's great news for the 49ers, but it's enough to keep Arizona Cardinals fans up at night.
Christian McCaffrey back to full health at OTAs
For the majority of his career, Christian McCaffrey has feasted in games against the Arizona Cardinals. In seven games against Arizona, McCaffrey has posted over 1,000 total yards and 10 touchdowns. That's a good stat line for a whole season. In seven games.
Two of his most dominant performances against the Cardinals came in the 2023 season, where he eclipsed 100 rushing yards in both matchups and scored seven total touchdowns across the two games. In those two games, the 49ers beat the Cardinals by a combined score of 80-45.
Luckily, the Cardinals were spared from McCaffrey's wrath in 2024. The 49ers star missed both games against the Cardinals with injuries to his Achilles and his right knee. Coincidentally, the Cardinals won both of those games. McCaffrey has been the biggest deciding factor in the Cardinals' matchups with their division rival over the last two seasons.
Unfortunately, Christian McCaffrey looks ready to go for the 2025 season. According to reports from 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, McCaffrey is "as healthy as can be" at OTAs.
Even if McCaffrey is healthy, it could be a different story against the Cardinals in 2025. Arizona's defensive front is much stronger than it was the last time it faced McCaffrey. Back in 2023, the Cardinals had one of the weakest defensive units in the entirety of the NFL.
Josh Sweat, Calais Campbell, Walter Nolen, Darius Robinson, and Dalvin Tomlinson are all new to the team since that last matchup in the 2023 season.
This Cardinals team is built to stop the run more than it has been in recent years. It may be unrealistic to expect the Cardinals to completely shut down a player of Christian McCaffrey's caliber, but they can at least hope to slow him down.
The Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers first face off in San Francisco in Week 3. Then, the Cardinals host the 49ers in Week 11. Those two matchups will be crucial to the Cardinals' playoff chances this season. They'll have to contain Christian McCaffrey to come away with wins.