Running back Christian McCaffrey is set to make his 49ers debut against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday at Levi's Stadium, a source told NBC Sports Bay Area on Saturday night.
The 49ers acquired McCaffrey Thursday night in a trade with the Carolina Panthers for second-, third- and fourth-round picks in 2023, and a fifth-rounder in 2024.
McCaffrey, 26, flew to the Bay Area on Friday morning and watched most of practice that day while he began learning the 49ers' game plan for facing the Chiefs on Sunday.
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The 49ers had a brief practice on Saturday, after which coach Kyle Shanahan determined that McCaffrey had a strong enough knowledge of the play book to suit up and see action.
“I don't think there's anything he can't do,” Shanahan said of McCaffrey on Friday. "Just whether it's in the pass game, the run game, blocking, I think he's a very talented player.
“And just watching how he plays, he’s a very smart player. He always gets to the right hole, is very smooth, and we’ve seen that at every level he's played in.”
McCaffrey played in the Panthers’ first six games of the season and went through two practices with his former team this week before arriving in the Bay Area.
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McCaffrey is in physical condition to take on a significant workload against Kansas City. Now, it’s a matter of how much of the offense he can learn before kickoff.
The more he can demonstrate to the coaching staff he knows of the team’s offense, the more playing time McCaffrey could see in the game.