Shanahan: 49ers Christian McCaffrey day-to-day with achilles tendonitis

Sep 10, 2024, 11:45 AM

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - FEBRUARY 11: Head coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers interacts with Christian McCaffrey #23 prior to Super Bowl LVIII against the Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium on February 11, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

BY AMILIANO FRAGOSO

San Francisco 49ers Beat Writer

After a late scratch Monday afternoon, it appears Christian McCaffrey will continue to be one to watch entering Week 2, according to Kyle Shanahan.

The San Francisco 49ers coach relayed on his weekly conference call with the media that the team’s star running back will be day-to-day entering Week 2. McCaffrey has been dealing with a calf injury for the last month, missing all of the preseason. That lower-body ailment has escalated to an achilles issue now, with tendonitis coming and going. While the ballcarrier remind adamant he would play Week 1 against the New York Jets, the 49ers exercised caution after his pregame warmups didn’t go to plan.

“The achilles is tendonitis and that stuff comes and goes. And when it is acting up, it’s something you’ve got to be very careful about. Christian’s very diligent about that stuff,” Shanahan said about McCaffrey Tuesday.

Again this week Christian McCaffrey is day-to-day with his calf/Achilles injury. The #49ers will be careful with the reigning #OPOY

— Jennifer Lee Chan – threads @jenniferleechan (@jenniferleechan) September 10, 2024

Despite his late scratch, and lingering caution into Week 2, the coach shared that if it was playoff game, CMC would be out there.

“If it was a playoff game, he made it very clear to me he believed he could go,” Shanahan stated. “But when you hear that type of stuff and it’s not a playoff game and it’s Week 1 and especially when you’re dealing with the lower extremities like that, it was a tough decision, but hearing all the words in the long run, it made it easy.”

Christian McCaffrey, 27, has a history of lower body injuries during his days with the Carolina Panthers. Since joining the 49ers, the Stanford alum has only missed two games in almost two years in Red & Gold.

Some good injury news did come from Shanahan Tuesday, as safety Talanoa Hufanga has a chance to make his seasoned debut against the Minnesota Vikings Sunday. Hufanga suffered a torn ACL during Week 11 of the 2023 season.