49ers acquire Christian McCaffrey from Panthers for multiple picks

Christian McCaffrey is returning to the Bay Area.  The San Francisco 49ers made a high-risk, high-reward move late Thursday night, acquiring McCaffrey in a trade that sends multiple draft picks back to Carolina.

The Niners are sending the Panthers a second-round pick, third-round pick and fourth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, as well as a fifth-round pick in the 2024 Draft.

McCaffrey was a Heisman finalist at Stanford in the 2015 college football season, and was the 8th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft by Carolina.

McCaffrey’s father, Ed, was a longtime NFL receiver, including a stint with the 49ers as well as with Mike Shanahan’s Denver Broncos.  Now, it’s another Shanahan-McCaffrey reunion a generation later, with Christian set to make plays in Kyle’s backfield.

The 49ers are 3-3 and host the 4-2 Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.