SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Christian McCaffrey starts the offseason with “zero restrictions” following an injury-filled 2024 season for the San Francisco 49ers that limited him to just four games.
McCaffrey missed the first eight games of the season with Achilles tendinitis and then went down with a right knee injury that sidelined him for the final five games.
“I’m feeling great," McCaffrey said Tuesday on the first day of the offseason program for the 49ers. "It’s been such a smooth process, a lot of hard work. As soon as that injury happened in Buffalo, this was my goal to not miss a day of OTAs, be back ready to go with nothing hindering me. That’s where I’m at.”
McCaffrey said he was fully healed from the Achilles injury and the posterior cruciate ligament injury suffered in Buffalo on Dec. 1 by early in the offseason and was able to train at “full speed.”
It's been an eventful offseason for McCaffrey, with his wife, Olivia Culpo, expecting the couple's first child.
That follows the frustrating 2024 season. McCaffrey injured his Achilles tendon early in training camp and missed the first eight games of the season. He rushed for just 202 yards on 50 carries in four games before getting hurt again as he was unable to match his sensational 2023 season.
McCaffrey won the AP Offensive Player of the Year that season after leading the NFL with 2,023 yards from scrimmage and tying for the league lead with 21 touchdowns.
McCaffrey had missed just one game combined in 2022-23 — a meaningless Week 18 game in the 2023 season for San Francisco when he had a sore calf — after missing 23 games because of injuries in his final two full seasons with Carolina.
Niners star linebacker Fred Warner said he has fully recovered from a broken bone in his ankle that hampered him for most of last season. Warner played through the injury without missing any games and earned his third straight All-Pro honors.
I feel great. Ankle’s a thing of the past now, thank God, because that was tough, trying to deal with that all season. But I feel great now.
“I feel great," he said. "The ankle injury is a thing of the past.”
NOTES: DL Evan Anderson, DL Alex Barrett, LB Jalen Graham and TE Brayden Willis signed their one-year exclusive rights contracts. ... Dustin Perry has been prompted to vice president of player health and performance. Perry is entering his ninth season with the 49ers and was the team’s head strength and conditioning coach the past six seasons.
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FILE - San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) warms up before an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke, File)
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Drones attacked a vessel carrying aid to Gaza on Friday in international waters off Malta, the group organizing the shipment said, in the latest confrontation over efforts to send assistance to the Palestinian territory devastated by nearly 19 months of war.
A nearby tugboat responded to a distress call from the Conscience, which authorities said experienced a fire that was brought under control. The vessel was carrying 12 crew members and four civilians, the Maltese government said, adding that those aboard refused to leave the ship. The group was safe and no serious injuries were reported, it said.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition accused Israel of attacking its ship. The group did not provide evidence for that claim or to show that the fire was caused by drones, but in a video it shared an explosion could be heard. Another video showed a fire blazing.
The Israeli army did not respond to a request for comment. Israel has cut off Gaza from all imports, including food and medicine, since the beginning of March, leading to what is believed to be the worst humanitarian crisis in the war with Hamas, the Palestinian militant group.
Video from aboard the Conscience appeared to show at least two large holes in the deck, with thick smoke surrounding the ship. The person recording the footage said the vessel had just been hit twice and was on fire about 14 miles from port in Malta. The video was provided by Codepink, a grassroots peace and social justice movement.
The ship is not taking on water, but its generator was badly damaged and will need to be repaired before continuing, Charlie Andreasson, who has been involved with the Freedom Flotilla for more than a decade, told The Associated Press. He said some crew members suffered minor injuries while putting out the fire.
The damaged ship now appears to be stranded at anchor in international waters, said Tighe Barry, a Codepink member who was among a group of activists who took speedboats to the Conscience after the attack. The boats were turned away by Maltese authorities, he said, but one person made it aboard and spoke to the captain.
Barry said the nation of Palau revoked its flag from the Conscience prior to the attack, and authorities in Malta, Greece and Turkey have threatened to confiscate the ship if it comes to port. Barry said the ship was loaded with medicine and food supplies for Gaza.
“To get a new flag will take months, so they're just stuck out there,” Barry said of the crew.
Israel says the blockade is an attempt to pressure Hamas to release hostages it took during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the conflict. Hamas-led militants assaulted southern Israel that day, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Hamas is still holding 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to be alive.
In response, Israel launched an offensive that has killed over 52,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians. Israel’s bombardment and ground operations have destroyed vast areas of the territory and left most of its population homeless.
When an aid flotilla attempted to break a blockade of Gaza in 2010, Israeli forces stormed a Turkish ship, the Mavi Marmara, killing nine people on board.
On Friday, the Conscience was hit about 16 miles (26 kilometers) from Malta, according to the Freedom Flotilla.
Andreasson said he had spoken to people on board who said there were two explosions and the fire.
Photos provided by the Cypriot authorities showed the ship with damage to its side. No one aboard the vessel could immediately be reached for comment.
Earlier the group said the strike appeared to have targeted the ship’s generator, causing a “substantial breach in the hull” and leaving it without power. It said that put the vessel at risk of sinking.
According to the ship-monitoring website Marine Traffic, the Conscience left the Tunisian port of Bizerte on Tuesday and arrived Thursday morning in the area where it reported being attacked. The organizers said the ship was hit Friday, just after midnight.
Volunteers who had traveled to Malta were meant to board the ship to go to Gaza, the group said. Andreasson said climate activist Greta Thunberg was supposed to have participated. The organization said Thunberg did not board and was safe.
About two dozen volunteers, including Thunberg, took smaller boats to the Conscience to assess the damage after the attack, said Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Codepink. Benjamin said the ship's crew are from Turkey and Azerbaijan.
The attack happened as aid groups have warned that the humanitarian response in Gaza is on the verge of collapse.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said Friday that it will not have access to food, medicine and life-saving supplies needed for many of its Gaza programs if aid deliveries don’t resume immediately.
Programs at risk include “common kitchens” that often give residents the only meal they receive each day and could be forced to halt operations in a few weeks, the ICRC said.
“Aid must be allowed to enter Gaza. Hostages must be released. Civilians must be protected,” the committee said. “Without immediate action, Gaza will descend further into chaos that humanitarian efforts will not be able to mitigate.”
Brito contributed from Barcelona, Spain. Associated Press writers Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel; Giada Zampano in Rome; Kevin Schembri Orland in St. Julian’s, Malta; Colleen Barry in Soave, Italy; Elena Becatoros and Julia Frankel in Jerusalem; Jamey Keaten in Geneva; Menelaos Hadjicostis in Nicosia, Cyprus; and Jon Gambrell in Dubai contributed to this report.
Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
In this photo provided by the Government of Cyprus, a fire burns on the ship The Conscience, after a drone struck the vessel carrying aid to Gaza off the coast of Malta, Friday, May 2, 2025. (Government of Cyprus via AP)
This photo provided by the Goverment of Cyprus and taken from the EDT ship AEOLUS shows The Conscience, after a drone struck the vessel carrying aid to Gaza off the coast of Malta, Friday, May 2, 2025. (Government of Cyprus via AP)
A firefighting-equipped tug boat, left, contacted by the Malta Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) helps controlling a fire occurred on the bow of the Conscience vessel in international waters of the Mediterranean Sea, Friday, May 2, 2025. (Malta Vessel Traffic Services via AP)
