According to Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area, rehabbing San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey arrived at Levi's Stadium early on Sunday for a pre-game workout ahead of the matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs. No, McCaffrey isn't preparing to play just yet—he remains on injured reserve, and the 49ers have not yet opened his practice window. However, many believe that milestone may be approaching soon.
"The 49ers are set to play the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, and McCaffrey was at the 49ers' home stadium at least five hours before kickoff," Maiocco reported. "He was observed going to the team's practice field and weight room area, likely as part of his physical therapy routine."
Maiocco also noted that McCaffrey appears to be "eyeing a post-bye-week return to action." While this is likely speculative, it aligns with growing expectations regarding McCaffrey's recovery timeline.
McCaffrey has not played this season after missing most of training camp and the entire preseason due to calf and Achilles tendinitis.
On Friday morning, 49ers general manager John Lynch discussed McCaffrey's rehab progress during a radio interview.
"No new updates other than he's doing incredibly well," Lynch said. "It's all about the ramp up, increasing the activity, making sure that there's no setbacks. I could just tell people he's on a good track with that. No timelines or anything, but he's doing a little bit more—not each day. We kind of stagger it, work hard one day, kind of go into more of a [regeneration] day the next day.
"But when you can start to stack those and not have setbacks, that's a good thing, and that's kind of the direction he's trending in."
After Sunday's game against the Chiefs, the 49ers will host the Dallas Cowboys before entering their bye week. This means McCaffrey could be gearing up for a return in the second half of the season, potentially suiting up for San Francisco's Week 10 road matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on November 10.