The Rams had thoughts of returning from their bye with running back Christian McCaffrey in their lineup against the 49ers, but they’ll be playing against him for the second straight game instead.
McCaffrey was part of the Panthers team that lost to the Rams in Week Six and he will be facing them as a member of the 49ers this week. The 49ers outbid the Rams to land McCaffrey in a trade late last week and head coach Sean McVay told reporters on Monday that his first reaction to the news of the deal was “Oh s--t, they get another great player.”
“I think he’s a phenomenal player,” McVay said in a press conference. “Obviously, we saw him recently. I’ve always had respect for his game and the versatility. I think that’s your first inclination, and then you know what a great job Kyle [Shanahan] and his staff do of maximizing and utilizing versatile offensive weapons. That was my first reaction. Then as a competitor, you say, ‘Hey, they got him.’ We’ve gotta be able to move forward accordingly and it just so happens that they’re on the schedule this week.”
McVay called making trades that help your team while stopping rivals from strengthening their own a “sound approach” and said he likes the “good competitiveness” that the Rams have with their NFC West rivals. He’ll likely be even happier about it if the Rams can end a seven-game regular season losing streak to the 49ers.
