Star running back Christian McCaffrey has already been ruled out of the San Francisco 49ers’ road game against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, while the team is the defending NFC champion.
Due to a calf/Achilles injury, McCaffrey was unable to play in San Francisco’s season-opening victory over the New York Jets. The league took note when the 49ers announced the injury prior to Monday night’s contest. McCaffrey seemed as though he would be able to go.
Concerning that? The damage is far worse than initially believed.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that McCaffrey is being placed on injured reserve by the 49ers. He will therefore be out of action for at least the next four games.
It’s not shocking in and of itself. An inactive roster stint is a possibility, San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan informed reporters on Friday. The 49ers won’t take a chance on the probable Achilles injury that may finish the season for the league’s top offensive player.
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The 49ers of San Francisco won’t have Christian
That seems improbable, though. That game is this Thursday evening. To get back to practice on Monday, McCaffrey would need to be activated. With the short week, that is not reasonable.
Instead, the intended matchup ought to be the Oct. 20 Super Bowl rematch with the Kansas City Chiefs. We may also have to consider the possibility that McCaffrey won’t return until after the 49ers’ Week 9 bye, depending on how well they perform.
Stats for Christian McCaffrey in 2023: 1,459 yards of rushing, 67 receptions, 564 yards of receiving, 2,023 total yards, and 21 touchdowns
This clearly hurts the 49ers offense a lot.
In a rout of the Jets last week, former undrafted rookie free agency Jordan Mason ran for a career-high 147 yards. Additionally, Isaac Guerendo, a fourth-round rookie pick, ought to play more. Additionally, it wouldn’t be shocking if practice squad veteran Ke’Shawn Vaughn got called up.
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