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The Biggest Storyline of 49ers Minicamp

Mandatory minicamp starts on Tuesday and ends on Wednesday for the 49ers. And this year, there are lots of intriguing storylines.
Grant Cohn|
May 9, 2025; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers players engage in running drills during the teamís rookie minicamp. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images
May 9, 2025; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers players engage in running drills during the teamís rookie minicamp. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images | D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

Mandatory minicamp starts on Tuesday and ends on Wednesday for the 49ers. And this year, there are lots of intriguing storylines.

How does Brock Purdy handle his new contract extension? How does Robert Saleh remake the 49ers defense? Which young players will assert themselves as crucial contributors?

But the most intriguing storyline according to CBS Sports is Christian McCaffrey. How does he look after missing most of last season due to injuries?

"In 2023, three-time Pro Bowl running back McCaffrey was the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year, and the 49ers reached overtime of the Super Bowl before losing to the Kansas City Chiefs," writes CBS Sports' Garrett Podell.

"In 2024, McCaffrey played four games while dealing with bilateral Achilles tendonitis and a PCL injury in his knee, and the 49ers went 6-11. Those 11 losses were tied for second by a team in the season after a Super Bowl loss ever.

"How much the soon-to-be 29-year-old running back participates in mandatory minicamp and how he looks will be something to watch because San Francisco's 2025 hopes may rest on his banged up body."

McCaffrey was a full participant in OTAs, which is a very good sign considering those are voluntary. Barring injury, he will be on the field for mandatory minicamp and he will practice as hard as anyone on the team.

But that doesn't mean he'll look like prime McCaffrey. He might look good at times, but he never will be as quick and explosive as he was when he was 27 before he tore his PCL and had bilateral Achilles tendonitis. Those injuries take a toll on a player's body, and McCaffrey is old for a running back.

Still, expect to read lots of reports about how great McCaffrey looks in practice. It's what people want to hear.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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