McCaffrey covers a lot of ground

Getting engaged to Miss Universe 2012 has Christian McCaffrey all “fired up” this offseason.

Now comes the task of taking his business relationship with the 49ers to another level.

McCaffrey is a week into the 49ers' offseason program, and while it's voluntary for two months, he beamed Monday about why he's participating and what he's setting out to accomplish.

Here are tidbits of what McCaffrey said during the first media availability with select players this offseason:

ON REUNITING WITH SAM DARNOLD >> What is the first thing McCaffrey told quarterback Sam Darnold about the prospect of following him from the Carolina Panthers to the 49ers?

“I told him it's fun, got a lot of weapons and an unbelievable mind calling plays,” McCaffrey replied. “He already knew all that stuff. He had watched all the tape. He was a fan from afar. He was fired up to get here.”

Darnold signed a oneyear, $4.5 million deal last month to join Brock Purdy and Trey Lance in the quarterback room. McCaffrey arrived in a trade last October, after playing with Darnold in only four games together because of their injuries (they started 3-0 together in 2021).

“Sam's great. He can do everything. He can make every throw. He's smart. He's able to pick up things quickly and do his job. He does exactly what he's told all the time, and he adds a lot of flair to it, too,” McCaffrey said. “I got the privilege to play with Sam — not enough; I had some injuries. He's just a gamer, and he's tough as hell. He's played a lot, never made excuses and I'm glad he's here.

“His toughness to me is something he doesn't get a lot of credit for. The stuff he went through in New York and Carolina, to just keep his head down and work as hard as he did, it showed a lot of perseverance, determination, toughness, all that.”

ON BROCK PURDY >> McCaffrey may speak fondly of Darnold but he does the same in regards to Purdy, who is six weeks into a potential six-month recovery from elbow surgery.

“Everybody talked about it last year in who Brock is, but it's no surprise now that he's a guy who's going to show up to work every day with a positive attitude and do his job with the best of his ability. He's done just that,” McCaffrey said. “It's been good to see him and how hard he's working.”

ON RUNNING BACK COACHES >>

Once he was traded in October from the Carolina Panthers to the 49ers, McCaffrey did not need much runway to become the offense's multi-purpose catalyst. Still, he says he is starting from “square one” and learning the nuances of an offense, a feat familiar to the Stanford product after the Panthers burned through five coordinators over the past five seasons.

ON 49ERS' FREE AGENCY MOVES >>

McCaffrey is signed through 2025 at roughly a $12 million salary annually. He hasn't tested free agency. He liked what he saw from the 49ers last month, however, when they signed defensive tackle Javon Hargrave.

“Definitely happy we don't have to play against him. He's a stud, he's a guy who's obviously had a lot of success in his career,” McCaffrey said.