Christian McCaffrey was traded to the San Francisco 49ers by the Carolina Panthers on Thursday, according to multiple reports.
After the news on the running back came out, the 49ers’ odds to win the 2023 Super Bowl dropped a bit, from +1900 to +1400 at FanDuel. They are now +650 to win the NFC.
San Francisco was the fourth choice to win the Super Bowl from the NFC and is now the third, behind the Philadelphia Eagles (+550) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+1100). The 49ers moved ahead of the Minnesota Vikings (+1700).
The odds for the Panthers did not change. At +55000, Carolina is third-highest in the NFL, ahead of only the Chicago Bears and Houston Texans (each +100000).
Christian McCaffrey Trade Can Boost 49ers Offense
San Francisco enters NFL Week 7 at 3-3 and in a three-way tie with the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks atop the NFC West.
The 49ers began the season with Trey Lance as their quarterback and Elijah Mitchell as their primary running back. Mitchell injured an MCL in his knee in Week 1 and was expected to be out until Week 10 at least, and Lance fractured his ankle in Week 2 and is out for the season.
Jimmy Garoppolo took over for Lance at quarterback, and Jeff Wilson Jr. has gotten most of the work at running back. San Francisco won three of four before losing to the Atlanta Falcons 28-14 last week. The 49ers were +1300 to win the Super Bowl prior to that loss.
McCaffrey, who is fourth in the NFL in scrimmage yards this season (670 total; 393 rushing, 277 receiving), could give the 49ers a more dynamic offense, teaming with wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, and tight end George Kittle.
McCaffrey would seem unlikely to debut for San Francisco against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. The 49ers play the Rams in Week 8 before their bye in Week 9.
The running back missed 23 of 33 games because of injuries the prior two seasons but this season played 85% of Carolina’s snaps. McCaffrey has not played for a winning team since the Panthers were 11-5 in his rookie season of 2017.
He played collegiately at nearby Stanford.
Panthers Trade Signals Full Rebuild
Carolina this season already fired head coach Matt Rhule after a Week 5 loss to the 49ers (37-15). The Panthers lost to the Rams 24-10 last week and are 1-5. Starting quarterback Baker Mayfield is out with an ankle injury.
Earlier this week, they traded wide receiver Robbie Anderson to the Arizona Cardinals.
ESPN reported the Panthers are receiving a second-round, a third-round and a fourth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and a fifth-round pick in 2024 to fortify what now looks like a complete rebuild.
The Buffalo Bills (+290) are the favorite to win the Super Bowl, followed by the Eagles, Chiefs (+800), Buccaneers and now the 49ers.
