Sports

49ers Sunday Mailbag: Could McCaffrey and Bosa be Gone by Next Season?

By Grant Cohn Sports Illustrated

Updated July 5, 2026 12:41 PM

Let's take a break from Brandon Aiyuk this morning and focus on the people who actually will be on the 49ers this season.

Here are nine questions about those people, followed by my answers. Enjoy.

From Walter Gibson

Will the 49ers actually limit McCaffrey's touches, or will they run him into the ground? And are Nick Bosa and CMC gone after this season?

The 49ers always say they plan to limit McCaffrey's touches, but they never actually do. That's why I think they drafted Kaelon Black in Round 3 to be an insurance policy in case McCaffrey goes down. I doubt Black will play much when McCaffrey is healthy. Shanahan said at NFL Annual meeting that he takes McCaffrey off the field so rarely because he can run routes that the other running backs can't, which means Shanahan can call certain plays only when McCaffrey is on the field. That hasn't changed.

And yes, Bosa and McCaffrey could be gone after this season. Both will be extremely expensive in 2027. If they play well this year, both could get extensions, as crazy as that may sound. If either one struggles or gets injured or both, they could get released. The 49ers do not like overpaying star players. Just ask Brandon Aiyuk.

From BTC

Will Christian McCaffrey ever average 4.3 or more yards per carry for a season again?

Probably not. He hasn't averaged more than 4.0 yards per carry since 2023, and he just turned 30. Plus, the offensive line is even weaker than it was a year ago with the loss of Spencer Burford. Expect all the 49ers running backs to struggle, not just McCaffrey.

From Sacha Brady

What will be different this year on the offensive side of the ball? Can they score quickly and chase games when needed, or is it still going to be more of the same: try to get a lead and hold on to it?

The 49ers offense isn't built to score quickly or come from behind. It doesn't have the personnel or the play caller to succeed when it becomes one-dimensional and the whole stadium knows it has to drop back and pass to get back in the game. The offensive line is small, the playmakers are slow and the system depends on the threat of play action. The only difference on offense this season will be the addition of Mike Evans. He should improve a 49ers' red-zone offense that already is good.

From Mickey Wrangle

Is the offensive coaching staff capable of adjusting as defenses now have solved their schemes?

Kyle Shanahan's system doesn't work so well against defenses that can shut down his run game with nickel personnel and a light box. Once defenses have to overcommit to stopping McCaffrey on the ground, Shanahan can tear them apart with play-action passes over the top. But McCaffrey is getting old and slowing down -- teams don't have to load the box to stop him anymore. Particularly the Seahawks, who seem to have McCaffrey's number. And shutting him down is the key to beating the 49ers. Unless one of the young players improves dramatically, the offense once again will run through McCaffrey, which means it probably won't change much.

From SSJGOOSE1

Which wide receiver outside of Mike Evans and Pearsall will have the most receiving yards/TDs?

Either Demarcus Robinson or De'Zhaun Stribling. Typically, I would predict the veteran, simply because Kyle Shanahan doesn't seem to love playing rookies. But Shanahan drafted Stribling shockingly high, which means Shanahan's reputation as a talent evaluator is tied to him. I would expect Shanahan will give Stribling plenty of opportunities to play if/when Mike Evans or Ricky Pearsall get injured. Both of them missed roughly half the season last year.

From Paul Booming

Do you actually think Brock Purdy is playing for his job this season?

Yes. Any quarterback who gets paid more than $50 million per season and isn't a future Hall of Famer always is playing for his job. Purdy is a very good quarterback, but he's ineffective when he's less than 100 percent healthy. And he gets injured every year. And his backup, Mac Jones, is good too, and much, much cheaper. So if Purdy misses half the season once again or fails to reach the playoffs like in 2024, the 49ers might decide they don't want to guarantee his $55 million salary for 2028. They have to make that decision by April 1, 2027. How he plays this season will influence their decision.

From J. Rego

What do you expect this year with a new defensive coordinator and new scheme?

I expect Raheem Morris will call more blitzes than Robert Saleh did last year, which means the 49ers should record more sacks but also give up more big plays than they did in 2025. Under Saleh, the 49ers defense was conservative to the max. Its primary objective was to limit big plays. As a result, it didn't force many turnovers, and it gave up lots of yards but not a ton of points. Morris' primary objective will be to take the ball away from the opposing offense, which means Morris will take risks. And when one of his risks backfires and costs the 49ers a game, the 49ers might force him to call games like Saleh. That's what they did to Steve Wilks.

From 49ersWis85

What will happen to this staff if we miss the playoffs? Any changes? New gm?

If the 49ers miss the playoffs, the owners could decide that the core group of players who have been here since 2020 officially is too old, and it's time to move on and rebuild. In that case, the following players could get pushed out after this season: Nick Bosa, Christian McCaffrey, Kyle Juszczyk, Dre Greenlaw and Brock Purdy. Who knows, even Raheem Morris could get fired, considering the 49ers have had five defensive coordinators in the past five seasons. And John Lynch could get replaced as well, because drafting has been the 49ers' biggest weakness the past few years, and he ultimately is responsible for the drafts, even if he doesn't pick the players. Kyle Shanahan probably would get one more year to show if he can coach a young roster.

From Paul Crow

Besides health, what is the 49ers' biggest x-factor to a Super Bowl run?

Special teams. It was dreadful in 2024 when they missed the playoffs and it was elite last year when they won 13 games. Fortunately, they re-signed Eddie Pineiro, which was one of their best moves of the offseason, because he's practically automatic (except when it comes to extra points). But they didn't re-sign their returner, Skyy Moore, who was terrific for them last season. Instead, they signed Christian Kirk, who's old and often injured. Maybe they'll trade for a returner during the season like the Seahawks did last year when they acquired Rashid Shaheed from the Saints.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/49ers/onsi as 49ers Sunday Mailbag: Could McCaffrey and Bosa be Gone by Next Season?.

This story was originally published July 5, 2026 at 12:33 PM.