According to ESPN sources, the San Francisco 49ers are placing All-Pro RB Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve due to his calf tightness and Achilles tendinitis. On Saturday, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported, "49ers officially are placing All-Pro RB Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve due to his calf tightness and Achilles tendinitis. McCaffrey now will miss the next four games, at least, before the team assesses whether he can return in mid-October."
ESPN sources: 49ers officially are placing All-Pro RB Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve due to his calf tightness and Achilles tendinitis. McCaffrey now will miss the next four games, at least, before the team assesses whether he can return in mid-October. pic.twitter.com/VV9GRihDrL
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 14, 2024
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport is also reporting the same thing, saying, "The 49ers are placing RB Christian McCaffrey on Injured Reserve today, with hopes that his Achilles tendinitis fully heals by the time it's time to return in four games. It's Jordan Mason going forward." Rapoport added, "Not a surprise, as Kyle Shanahan said yesterday that placing Christian McCaffrey on IR today was possible (making it likely). But it will be official today."
After sounding like the 49ers were not even considering placing McCaffrey on injured reserve earlier this week, Kyle Shanahan spoke differently on Friday. "It's something we're considering now," Shanahan said. "Yeah, yesterday was his worst day. It's on and off, but with yesterday having the most pain, it's something we're going to be discussing here the next 24 hours."
Dr. Nirav Pandya, Professor of UCSF Orthopedic Surgery and Director of Sports Medicine at Benioff Children's Hospital, spoke about McCaffrey's injury and said the best thing for this type of injury is a decrease in workload, saying that is "key for this injury to prevent chronic changes to the tendon." Now McCaffrey will receive that time to rest and heal.
McCaffrey will certainly be missed. In 2023, while on his way to being named NFL Offensive Player of the Year, McCaffrey led or tied for the league lead in multiple areas, such as touches (339), rushing yards (1,459), yards from scrimmage (2,032), and scrimmage touchdowns (21) last season. He was named first-team All-Pro and was third in MVP voting.
The 49ers opened the season last Monday night with an impressive win over the New York Jets, thanks, in part, to a dominant performance by backup running back, Jordan Mason, and the offensive line. The big question will be if Mason and the offensive line can continue moving the ball on the ground.
In the win over the Jets, the 49ers also used WR Deebo Samuel a lot in the run game. But that plan is hardly sustainable. Nor is giving Mason 28 carries, like he had on Monday night. The 49ers have two other running backs on the 53-man roster, rookie Isaac Guerendo and veteran Patrick Taylor, Jr. Ke'Shawn Vaughn is the lone running back on the practice squad. The 49ers could bring him up, or perhaps bring in someone from the outside.
McCaffrey dealt with calf issues late last season and did not practice for much of training camp this year due to the same injury. It was believed he would be ready to go in the season opener, but McCaffrey was a surprise inactive for the game. This came after the 49ers revealed the star running back was also dealing with an Achilles injury.
Sunday's game will count as one of the four McCaffrey must miss. The first game he could take part in is a Thursday night matchup with the Seattle Seahawks on October 10. When that time comes, the 49ers will re-evaluate McCaffrey's injury to determine if he will be able to play or not. In the meantime, the 49ers will have to move forward and try to win games without one of the league's premiere players.