Running back Christian McCaffrey and quarterback Sam Darnold were teammates for parts of two seasons with the Panthers.
Now they’re on the same side again, as Darnold signed with the 49ers in free agency last month.
With Brock Purdy likely San Francisco’s starter when healthy, Darnold is expected to compete with Trey Lance to be the 49ers’ QB2.
In a Monday press conference, McCaffrey said he’s glad to have Darnold as a teammate again.
“Sam’s great. He can do everything. He can make any throw,” McCaffrey said. “He’s smart. He’s able to pick things up quickly and do his job. He doesn’t play beyond anything and just does exactly what he’s told all the time and then adds a lot of flare to it too.
“I got the privilege to play with Sam — not enough, there were some injuries. But he’s another guy, too, who’s just a gamer. And he’s tough as hell. He’s played through a lot and never made excuses. So, I’m happy he’s here.”
McCaffrey added that he’s not sure Darnold gets enough credit for his toughness.
“Just knowing kind of the stuff that he went through in New York and then in Carolina and to be able to just keep his head down and continue to work as hard as he did showed a lot of perseverance, toughness, and all that,” McCaffrey said.
When Darnold was signing with the 49ers, McCaffrey told the quarterback that he’d have fun in head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense.
“It’s got a lot of weapons and there’s an unbelievable mind calling plays,” McCaffrey said he relayed to Darnold. “He already knew all that stuff, though, he had watched all the tape and he was a fan from afar. So, he was fired up to get here.”
Darnold compiled a 4-2 record as a starter last year with Carolina, completing 59 percent of his passes for 1,143 yards with seven touchdowns and three interceptions.