SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- In the minutes after the San Francisco 49ers had pulled off the biggest trade of the season, phones started ringing on opposite ends of the country.
At around 9:30 p.m. ET on Oct. 20 in the Bay Area, Niners general manager John Lynch had just hung up with Carolina Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer after agreeing to swap a haul of draft picks for running back Christian McCaffrey.
Lynch immediately dialed 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan to break the news that a player many in the organization thought was out of reach was now joining their roster of stars.