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The San Francisco 49ers have been battling many key injuries for the second season in a row as they look to return to the NFL playoffs following their disastrous 6-11 finish last year. Amidst the uncertainty about who has been available to play from week to week, they have relied heavily on their biggest weapon. Running back Christian McCaffrey has simply been a workhorse for them as much as he ever has since they traded for him three years ago. In 10 games, he has collected 626 rushing yards, 692 receiving yards and four rushing and receiving touchdowns. He currently leads the NFL with 249 touches, which is simply a combination of rushing attempts and pass receptions. In the Niners’ 42-26 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, he had a quiet game with 30 rushing yards on 12 attempts and 66 receiving yards on eight catches. But he went over 7,000 rushing yards for his career, which made him only the fourth player in league history to attain both 7,000 rushing yards and 5,000 receiving yards. Read more: Lions’ Jahmyr Gibbs Set NFL Feat Only Seen by Hall of Famers The other three players to do so are Marshall Faulk, Marcus Allen and Tiki Barber, which puts McCaffrey in some pretty impressive company. Players with 7K career rushing yards and 5K career receiving yards:Marshall FaulkMarcus AllenTiki Barberand Christian McCaffrey. pic.twitter.com/v93LrWxx2V— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) November 11, 2025 In 2019, McCaffrey joined Faulk in another esteemed category by becoming only the third player to ever record 1,000 rushing and receiving yards in the same season. Faulk did so in 1999 when his St. Louis Rams won the Super Bowl championship, and former 49ers running back Roger Craig achieved the same feat in 1985. SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 09: Christian McCaffrey #23 of the San Francisco 49ers runs against the Los Angeles Rams during the second half at Levi’s Stadium on November 09, 2025 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) McCaffrey hasn’t been efficient this season. He’s averaging a career-low 3.5 yards per carry, and some members of the Niners Faithful have been wondering if he has lost some explosiveness after he dealt with Achilles tendonosis and a PCL injury last year. However, at least some of the blame has to go to San Francisco’s offensive line, which has proven to be mediocre at best this season. Read more: NFL Analyst Predicts Struggling Team Will Make Historic Super Bowl Run Prior to the start of this season, San Francisco looked to take a little pressure off McCaffrey, who is 29 years of age, by acquiring running back Brian Robinson Jr. from the Washington Commanders. But while Robinson is averaging 4.9 yards per rush, he has taken just 49 carries this season for 238 yards and two touchdowns. Utilizing Robinson a little more seems to be the key to keeping McCaffrey fresh and possibly even extending McCaffrey’s career a bit. For more on the 49ers and general NFL news, head over to Newsweek Sports.
