Christian McCaffrey Likely to Miss Week 2 vs. Vikings

The San Francisco 49ers kicked off their season with a win, but running back Christian McCaffrey was not involved in the game. Ahead of the matchup, McCaffrey was ruled out with a calf and Achilles injury. Something to watch this week as McCaffrey is likely to miss the week two matchup against the Minnesota Vikings. Here is a look at McCaffrey’s injury and his status for week two.

Christian McCaffrey’s Injury

With all the news on if McCaffrey will be playing this weekend, it is important to look at what his injury is. The reports regarding McCaffrey’s injury began just at the start of preseason. The announcement of the calf strain came on August 6th from head coach Kyle Shanahan. Shanahan did state he would be out for a couple of weeks with it, as reported by David Lombardi on X. By mid-august, Lombardi posted that he saw McCaffrey running routes off to the side. This is when the optimism began.

McCaffrey dealt with a calf strain towards the end of the 2023 season. He sat out in week 18 against the Los Angeles Rams then played with the strain throughout the post-season. This is a similar injury, which shows it is not long-term, but the team and McCaffrey need to be careful.

Where the miscommunication may have begun is that McCaffrey was open in stating that he was not concerned about the injury. Both Shanahan and McCaffrey have said if it was a playoff game the running back would be on the field. On the initial injury report, McCaffrey was listed as questionable for Monday night’s game.

Ahead of the season, Shanahan explained that the calf injury is connected to his Achilles. While McCaffrey was limited in practice the week before the game against the New York Jets, he did not play in the game. The injury still bothered McCaffrey at practice on Friday, and during warmups Monday it was clear he could not play.

When Could He Return?

If this was playoffs, McCfafrey likely would be on the field. The main issue is that it is just week two of the season now. If the 49ers do not play this safe, they can lose McCaffrey longer than just a couple of weeks. He is an important player, there is no denying that, but it is better to be safe than sorry this early in the 2024 season.

The 49ers’ next three games are at the Minnesota Vikings, at the Los Angeles Rams, and then back home against the New England Patriots. The issue is not the opponents as much as the field that they will be playing on. The 49ers do try to not put players returning from injury on artificial turf. Especially if it is a strain. It is also a shorter week for San Francisco. This means there is less time to see how McCaffrey is doing at practice.

Turf aside, they will likely keep McCaffrey out one more week. If he is fine after that, he could show up against the Rams, but will likely still be monitored. If all goes well, the running back is very likely to be playing against the Patriots in week four. This should be the latest he returns if there are no setbacks. Either way, this is a saga to watch.

49ers Without Christian McCaffrey

Without McCaffrey for potentially two more weeks, eyes turn to the 49ers offense without him. The 49ers did well without him in week one. This may have impacted the team while in the red zone, but the 49ers still won the game. Jordan Mason stepped up big time against the New York Jets. The offensive line also did well blocking for not just the run, but their pass blocking did well. The passing game should also improve next week with Brandon Aiyuk starting to warm up more and other players getting the first game out of their system.

What is good news is with Mason proving himself against the Jets, the 49ers offense opens up even more. When McCaffrey does return, he does not have to take the brunt of the workload. The team will go with the momentum, but McCaffrey does not have to carry the run game on his back. Between Mason and Deebo Samuel, they can ease McCaffrey back in. There is another offensive weapon on this 49ers.

The 49ers with McCaffrey is huge, but they are in good hands without him as he heals up.