The San Francisco 49ers are eager to gauge Christian McCaffrey's progress in the coming weeks. The star running back is eligible to have his practice window opened before the Week 6 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. The team hopes the Achilles tendinitis that sidelined him has settled enough for McCaffrey to gradually work his way back and eventually be activated off injured reserve.
ESPN insider Adam Schefter discussed the situation during his weekly appearance on the "Pat McAfee Show" this week, emphasizing that despite the team's optimism, no one truly knows how long McCaffrey's recovery might take.
"I guess, just from a common sense standpoint, you can just say, we don't know what's going to happen here with him," Schefter said. "You just don't know because he took off time during training camp, came back, and was worse off. Okay, so now he's taking off more time, he's getting treated, he's going to come back, and let's see how he's feeling at that point in time.
"He might be better, he might not. We don't know. But in their minds, they're thinking they're expecting him to come back here in weeks, whether that's three weeks, four weeks, five weeks, whatever that is."
Schefter underscored that the situation remains uncertain, reacting to surprise over the potential length of the timeline by reiterating, "Well, we don't know. They don't know."
On Friday morning, general manager John Lynch also addressed McCaffrey's situation during his weekly interview with KNBR. He noted that the team plans to cautiously ramp up McCaffrey's workload once he's eligible to return.
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"We'll have to hit certain markers, and we'll try the ramp-up," Lynch said. "And, God willing, the thing has quieted down, and we can build him back up in a really smart and thoughtful way."
Rumors swirled of a negative report from McCaffrey's recent trip to Germany, where he consulted with a specialist about his Achilles tendinitis. However, those reports have since been debunked. They stemmed from a misleading headline based on comments made by the medical director of the NHL's Anaheim Ducks in a separate story by the San Francisco Chronicle.
Schefter noted that this wasn't McCaffrey's first time seeking specialist advice in Germany.
"This is a guy that always is dedicated and committed to doing whatever he can to get himself the best medical attention and to get him on the football [field]," Schefter said. "It's so important to him. It means so much to him that he's always going to do whatever he can to get back out there.
"And let's keep in mind, I also think he probably feels, first and foremost, that's what he does. It's who he is. He wants it. They redid his contract. He feels, I'm sure, a certain sense of obligation to get out there to justify that he's worth what this team invested in him as well.
"So again, I think the plan right now is that they're going to start ramping him up here at some point in time in the coming weeks, and that they hope and think that he can get back there."
On Thursday, head coach Kyle Shanahan added that the team expects to have a clearer picture of McCaffrey's status in the next couple of weeks.
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"And now, we're going to start hitting the rehab harder and trying to get him back into football stuff and see how it responds," Shanahan said. "So we'll see how he responds here. We've let him rest here for a couple of weeks. ... [W]e'll probably turn it up here in the next couple of weeks. I know he still has at least two more weeks before we could have an option to play him, and we'll start testing that out sooner than later."
Earlier in the week, Shanahan was asked if there was any concern McCaffrey might miss the entire season—a question that seemed to catch the coach off guard.
"Not that I know of," Shanahan replied.
Schefter reflected on Shanahan's response, stating, "That idea seemed foreign to him. Like, the idea never crossed his mind. They have felt like they want to slowly try to ramp him up to get him back to being on the football field."
As the situation evolves, all eyes will be on McCaffrey's progress as the 49ers hope to get their star playmaker back on the field soon.
