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Christian McCaffrey is back with a vengeance this season.
A calf injury in August 2024 that was supposed to last “a few weeks” saw him miss the first eight games of the season. He then suffered a knee injury after only four games and was out for the rest of the year.
But this season, he has been his usual self, and it has led to him being noticed by the media.
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San Francisco 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles during the fourth quarter of an NFC Wild Card Playoff game at Lincoln Financial Field on Jan. 11, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
With his performance after last year’s disappointment, McCaffrey is clearly in the running – and perhaps the favorite – to be the league’s Comeback Player of the Year. But it doesn’t end there.
McCaffrey is the only non-quarterback to be a finalist for MVP, and he’s in the running for the Player of the Year Award for the second time in three years after posting 2,126 scrimmage yards and scoring 17 total touchdowns.
San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey warms up before the game against the Denver Broncos at Levi’s Stadium. (David Gonzales/Imagn Images)
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Only Adrian Peterson in 2012 and Joe Burrow last year have been finalists for all three awards in a single season (Drew Brees was second overall in 2006, but the winners were not named at the time). Peterson was named MVP and OPOY while finishing runner-up for Comeback Player of the Year, and Burrow was named Comeback Player of the Year for the second time in his career, which he joked was wrong.
McCaffrey finished 76 yards shy of his second 1,000-1,000 season, but joined the team in 2019 along with Roger Craig and Marshall Faulk. He had the most receptions by any running back with 102 – Bijan Robinson was second with 79.
Earlier this season, McCaffrey was named a first-team All-Pro for the third time in his career. McCaffrey is one of eight players with three or more 2,000-yard scrimmage seasons. Faulk, Eric Dickerson and Walter Payton each had four.
Additionally, McCaffrey is a finalist for the NFL’s Salute to Service Award, presented by USAA, “[uses] football’s power to connect, empower, inform and uplift our service members, veterans and their families. “
San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)
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McCaffrey will receive his finale for all four awards at the NFL Honors in the Bay Area during Super Bowl week on Feb. 5.
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