Christian McCaffrey collected another piece of hardware this week: the 49ers running back was named Best Comeback Athlete at the 2026 ESPYS, per the team, beating out golfer Anthony Kim, Angel City FC defender Savy King and Texas A&M volleyball standout Kyndal Stowers. The award comes just months after the Associated Press voted him NFL Comeback Player of the Year.
The comeback in question was total. After injuries limited McCaffrey to four games in 2024, he started all 17 in 2025 and carried a league-high 413 touches — 311 carries for 1,202 yards and 10 touchdowns, plus 102 catches for 924 yards and seven more scores, the most receiving yards by any running back in the league. San Francisco went 12-5 and reached the Divisional Round with that workload as the offense’s spine.
An ESPY doesn’t move the standings, but the story it commemorates is the exact story of the 49ers’ 2026 season. Niners starters missed more than 50 games last year, and the roster’s ceiling has always depended less on talent than on availability. Nick Bosa expects to be ready around the start of camp after his torn ACL, George Kittle is working toward Week 1 following his Achilles tear, and Fred Warner has been cleared for months. McCaffrey is the proof of concept: last season showed what one healthy star returns to this offense. Three more of them coming back at once is the difference between another Divisional Round exit and the deep January run this roster is built for.
The timeline starts now. San Francisco’s rookies report to the SAP Performance Facility on Friday — among the first arrivals of camp league-wide — with veterans due July 25 and eleven practices open to the public beginning the following day. McCaffrey turned 30 last month; the window this team spent the offseason reinforcing with Mike Evans and Christian Kirk is open exactly as long as seasons like last year’s 413-touch campaign remain repeatable.
