Shanahan: 49ers star Christian McCaffrey injury timeline unknown at this time
Sep 16, 2024, 12:19 PM
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 22: Christian McCaffrey #23 of the San Francisco 49ers warms up prior to a game against the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Divisional Playoff game at Levi's Stadium on January 22, 2023 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
(Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
The 49ers struggled offensively without Christian McCaffrey Week 2 in Minnesota. And unfortunately, there appears to be no timeline for his return.
San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan echoed this notion after the team’s 23-17 loss to the Vikings Sunday. While the Red & Gold half major success Week 1 without CMC, their first road game of the 2024 season was a different story, going 2 for 10 on third downs. Backup running back Jordan Mason carried the workload well, rushing for 100 yards and a touchdown. But the gravity of having the star ballcarrier on the field was absent, with the 49ers now 1-1 to open 2024.
San Francisco placed McCaffrey on injured reserve Saturday, meaning he will miss at least four games due to achilles tendinitis. However, there is no guarantee that he will be back as soon as possible.
“Not one person knows. He doesn’t know, we don’t know,” Shanahan said about Christian McCaffrey postgame. “Take it day by day, by putting him on IR it’s at least 4 weeks. So that will give him some time to rest and protect him from himself and us too.”
The Stanford alum suffered a calf strain during training camp, missing the entire preseason. Despite returning to the practice field prior to Week 1, he was a late scratch on Monday Night Football against the New York Jets. A few days later, he had his worst practice with the injury, with too much pain radiating from the lower body.
The 49ers ultimately decided to shut him down for the time being, but no surgery is required at this time.
“Not that I’ve been told,” Shanahan added.
Despite putting up 32 points Week 1, the 49ers’ offense didn’t carry the same weight on the road, struggling to finish off drives without CMC.
“Christian is the offensive MVP for a reason. He was in the MVP voting for a reason. He had 20-plus touchdowns for a reason, because he does it all in the pass game, in the run game,” 49ers tight end George Kittle said Sunday. “He has an incredible impact on this team, just him being around, he boosts everyone’s confidence. But, we won last week. I think we had opportunities to find a way to win today, and we just didn’t. But yeah, there’s things we can’t do without Christian.”
“There’s things that we can’t do without Christian.”
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) September 15, 2024
Kittle highlights CMC’s importance to the 49ers after today’s loss pic.twitter.com/TwC2Pehtm8
San Francisco 49ers 2024 Schedule:
Regular Season
- Sunday, September 22nd – @ Los Angeles Rams – 1:25 pm PDT
- Sunday, September 29th vs. New England Patriots – 1:05 pm PDT
- Sunday, October 6th vs. Arizona Cardinals – 1:05 pm PDT
- Thursday, October 10th @ Seattle Seahawks [TNF] – 5:15 pm PDT
- Sunday, October 20th vs. Kansas City Chiefs [SB LVIII Rematch]– 1:25 pm PDT
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