NEWSLETTER
The NFL trade deadline is still 10 days out, but the 49ers and Panthers made some big waves last night with a late-night blockbuster trade that will pair Christian McCaffrey with Deebo Samuel in San Francisco’s offense.
The 49ers are All-In with McCaffrey Trade
Christian McCaffrey will now play for Kyle Shanahan just like his father Ed played for Kyle’s father Mike in Denver when he was catching passes from John Elway in the 90s.
The younger McCaffrey won’t have John Elway throwing him footballs in San Francisco, but this trade might be one that he’ll come to remember as a career-changing moment. I mean, just getting out of the disaster that is the current state of the Panthers is a win for anyone. There’s also the bonus of playing in an offense run by Kyle Shanahan who has led the 49ers to a Super Bowl and an additional NFC title game in recent years with Jimmy Garoppolo under center.
At face value, the 49ers paid a pretty penny for the 26-year-old running back, sending four picks to the Panthers, including three in the upcoming 2023 NFL Draft. The 49ers will now be without a first or second-round pick in next spring’s draft (but they do have a pair of compensatory third-rounders). Still, as Tim Kawakami wrote over at The Athletic this morning, the 49ers now feel that they’re a legitimate Super Bowl contender with possibly the best duo of multi-purpose offensive weapons in the game in McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel.
Hopkins: Murray and Kingsbury Friction “Like a Marriage”
Taylor Swift’s third-quarter teaser for her new album was the best part of Thursday Night Football. I came into the game with zero interest in watching Andy Dalton and the Saints take on a scuffling Arizona Cardinals unit in Glendale and only slightly exceeded those low expectations because of the scoring, something we haven’t seen in weeks in the TNF slot.
Andy Dalton threw four touchdowns for the Saints and unsurprisingly threw three interceptions in the losing effort. Kyler Murray completed 20-of-29 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown through the air, ran for 30 yards, and notched another heated exchange with head coach Kliff Kingsbury that was caught on the broadcast.
Cardinals’ wide receiver Deandre Hopkins, who made his 2022 debut last night and could be seen playing mediator between Murray and Kingsbury on the sideline, compared the dynamic between his quarterback and head coach to a married couple’s, which was I got a laugh out of. But maybe Murray and Kingsbury need some couples counseling because right now, it seems like they’re heading for divorce court.
Elijah Moore Wants Out of New York
Elijah Moore has become the latest wide receiver to ask for a trade from the Jets this week, though Ian Rapoport says that the Jets have no plans to trade him. Despite the Jets not planning on accommodating Moore’s request, head coach Robert Saleh said that Moore will not play this Sunday when the Jets take on the Broncos in Denver.
Moore has caught 16 passes for 203 yards this season but has seen his targets slip the last three games. He was targeted 21 times in Weeks 1-3 but saw just a combined eight targets in Weeks 4 and 5. In last Sunday’s win against the Packers, he saw no official targets as the one throw that went his way was negated by a penalty.
Luis wrote about Moore and why the Bears should be making a call to the Jets, even if their public posturing says that they’re not planning on moving him.
