Acquiring one of the best players in the NFL is pretty sweet. Doing so while also blocking your division rival from acquiring him is even sweeter.
According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the Rams made a late push to trade for Christian McCaffrey before they were assumedly outbid by the San Francisco 49ers. It’s a partial payback for the Matthew Stafford deal, when Sean McVay got the deal done under Kyle Shanahan’s nose while both parties were in Cabo on vacation.
The Rams have become known for their consistent willingness to trade for stars — they traded for Odell Beckham Jr. and Von Miller last year — and reaped the rewards with a Super Bowl title. But the 49ers are also — perhaps more so — in win-now mode, and clearly believe adding McCaffrey will give them a shot to do the same.
The 49ers had to let go of four picks — a second-round pick in 2023, a third-rounder in 2023, a fourth-round pick in 2023 and a fifth-rounder in 2024 — in order to outbid LA, who are themselves notoriously flippant with sending off draft picks.
So San Francisco has won the latest chapter of the arm’s race, and will get to show off their new weapon when the two teams face each other two Sundays from now.