Kyle Shanahan Faces Difficult Decisions as Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel Join 49ers for “Last Hurrah”

The 2024 NFL schedule is out, and the 49ers are the favorites to reach the Super Bowl once again. If everything with Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel works out, that is. Nick Wright and his associates took to First Things First podcast and started a debate about who is more likely to get back to the Super Bowl. While the Kansas City Chiefs were an obvious choice, Chris Broussard thought otherwise and banked on the Niners.

Per Broussard, it’s not about the stats or past season’s success. It’s because this is San Francisco 49ers’ “last hurrah” and the co-host explained why the Niners would be so desperate to bounce back and fight for the Lombardi Trophy. Upon hearing the reasoning, it would be evident that the Niners are desperate for a Super Bowl win.

Will Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel be of no use to the Niners in the future?

Broussard pointed out that the 49ers’ running back is in the last years of his physical prowess. At the age of 27, McCaffrey’s performance is projected to decline in the upcoming season. He also pointed out how the 49ers might not want to fulfil Deebo Samuel’s contract because it’s too demanding to compensate for other players on the team.

“It’s their last hurrah”, said Broussard and explained, “McCaffrey has been healthy the last two years and he’s at age for running backs, 27, is he going to be healthy?” Broussard also added, “But this might be his last great season. That’s certainly on the board for running backs, right?” But Deebo Samuel as pointed before, is also a cause of concern here.

“Deebo’s name has already been mentioned in the trade rooms. They’re going to have to pay Purdy,” said the host and explained, “They’re going to have to pay him, which means you might lose some other people.”

It’s safe to say that Kyle Shanahan might have to make some difficult choices going in the future.

Why losing Samuel and McCaffrey may be detrimental to Kyle Shanahan’s offense?

Starting with the running back position, the 49ers don’t have a decent running back beside CMC. They have Elijah Mitchell and Jordan Mason, who have contributed 487 yards combined in the last season. And then there’s the curious case of rookie Isaac Guerendo, who is yet to step on the field. McCaffrey played 16 games, had 1,459 yards and 14 touchdowns last season, and ranks first in the yardage, per ESPN. Hence, losing him is a big risk.

As far as Samuel goes, he played 15 games, had 892 yards and 7 touchdowns. But comparing his performance to Brandon Aiyuk will clarify why Samuel’s presence is important. Aiyuk had 75 receptions 1,342 yards and 7 touchdowns and these stats are higher than Samuel’s. But If we take a deeper look, Samuel getting same amount of touchdowns means he’s either a good finisher or a very impactful player in the league. It also signifies that the WR makes the most out of his receptions.

However, Deebo’s contract has come to bite his back. This year, Samuel is set to make a base salary of nearly $28 million, per Spotrac, which might be a problematic situation for the team. Besides, the Niners drafted the rookie Ricky Pearsall in the draft, and he could potentially replace Samuel with enough training.

Safe to say that this might be the last glory year of Kyle Shanahan’s offense and he might have to start from scratch if her were to lose any of these players.