Christian McCaffrey has San Francisco 49ers fans and fantasy managers worried. The 29-year-old was added to the team’s injury report with a calf injury just three days before the season opener against the Seattle Seahawks. The star running back was listed as limited at practice on Thursday and also skipped the press conference. Coach Kyle Shanahan is mum about McCaffrey’s health issues, and an insider sounded an alarm.
49ers insider Grant Cohn was clearly frustrated. He brought up McCaffrey’s 2024 season, when he missed eight games with bilateral Achilles tendinitis. San Francisco finished 6-11, at the bottom of the NFC West.
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Speaking on his podcast, Cohn broke down McCaffrey’s injury. “I just want to see Christian McCaffrey on the field, Week 1, and I want to see him on the field every week, and I’m really starting to lose confidence that’s gonna happen.”
“Feels like the Niners built their whole season around the hope — the prayer — that Christian McCaffrey would be out there. And if he’s not: ‘Oops!’”
Grant Cohn further spoke about the RB’s two-year, $38 million extension in the summer of 2024, saying it was the ‘worse’ deal of its kind.
“Of all the extensions the 49ers have given out in the last few years, McCaffrey’s has to be the worst one, because he was literally injured when he signed it, and he hasn’t been healthy since. If any extension gets someone fired, it really should be that one.”
The San Francisco 49ers have yet to issue a final injury report.
“He seems very excited,” tight end George Kittle said earlier Thursday about McCaffrey’s anticipated return.
“He’s been excited since OTAs. He’s been excited since the season ended. So yes, I’m very, very much looking forward to being able to block for him and run routes next to him again.”
Since arriving in San Francisco via a midseason trade from Carolina in 2022, McCaffrey has reshaped the 49ers’ offense. His impact was immediate, powering the team to the NFC Championship Game that year, and his influence only grew during his first full campaign in 2023.
That season, McCaffrey captured the AP Offensive Player of the Year award after leading the league with 2,023 yards from scrimmage and matching the NFL’s top mark with 21 total touchdowns.
Durability, once a concern in Carolina, where he missed 23 games over his final two seasons, became a strength in San Francisco. Across 2022 and 2023, he sat out just one contest – a Week 18 matchup in 2023 with no playoff stakes, when he rested a sore calf.
(With AP inputs)
