Credit: Sue Ogrocki/AP
San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey missed Monday night’s 32-19 season-opening win over the New York Jets despite expressing confidence last Friday that he would play.
Injury Since Training Camp
McCaffrey has been dealing with a calf and Achilles injury since the early days of training camp. Head coach Kyle Shanahan first announced the injuries on August 6, stating McCaffrey would be out for a couple of weeks and skip the preseason. The team expected him to return for Monday’s game.
On Friday, McCaffrey said he hoped to have his usual heavy workload, and General Manager John Lynch echoed that optimism, saying McCaffrey would “be out there and ready to roll.” However, after practicing on a limited basis throughout the week, McCaffrey was ruled out about 90 minutes before the game.
“He looks like Christian to me,” run game coordinator Chris Foerster said Friday. “You need to practice, so the guys who haven’t practiced, I don’t want to say there’s rust, but there’s always a little something that goes on just because they haven’t been doing it every day. There’s just that grind of every day, day after day. But he looked good.”
McCaffrey’s current injury is similar to one he suffered last season, which caused him to miss Week 18 before returning for the playoffs. Shanahan said the team had hoped for a similar recovery this time around.
McCaffrey returned to practice on Tuesday and looked good, telling reporters on Friday that he felt “much better.”
The reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year, McCaffrey had 1,459 rushing yards, 564 receiving yards, and 21 touchdowns in 2023.
Mason Shines in Absence
In McCaffrey’s absence, Jordan Mason made his first career start, rushing for 147 yards on 28 carries with one touchdown. Veteran Patrick Taylor Jr. and rookie Isaac Guerendo were active but did not record any carries.
Elijah Mitchell, the 49ers’ backup running back last season, is on injured reserve for the year with a hamstring injury.
This report used information from ESPN.
