A week ago, just about everyone assumed San Francisco 49ers star Christian McCaffrey would play in the team’s season opener. Now, he may not play for the first time until after the Super Bowl rematch in mid-October.
One day after the 49ers placed McCaffrey on injured reserve, which means he will have to miss the next four games, top NFL insiders Ian Rapoport and Adam Schefter both reported that McCaffrey is expected to miss even more time.
“Christian McCaffrey is dealing with painful Achilles tendinitis, described to me as frustrating and difficult — difficult to run, certainly difficult to get rid of,” Rapoport said on NFL Network. “Now, he’s not at more of a risk of tearing his Achilles, but from my understanding he’s likely to be out six weeks or potentially more.”
Over on ESPN, Schefter reported, “The 49ers know this is an unpredictable injury, but it could well be well beyond four weeks in time for Christian McCaffrey.”
McCaffrey will be first eligible to return from the injured reserve in Week 6, when the 49ers play a Thursday night NFC West showdown in Seattle against the Seahawks. But Rapoport’s report of “six weeks or potentially more” suggests McCaffrey will miss the Seattle game and the Super Bowl rematch with the Chiefs on Oct. 20, and could miss the Cowboys rivalry matchup on Oct. 27, the last game before the Niners’ bye week.
It’s a dizzying turn from what McCaffrey and the 49ers were publicly saying over the past week. McCaffrey initially said he had “no doubt” he’d play in Week 1, and head coach Kyle Shanahan said the team didn’t know he would miss the Monday night opener until a few hours before the game.
As recently as Wednesday, the team wasn’t considering putting him on the injured reserve, but after McCaffrey had his “worst day” on Thursday, the 49ers made the move, Shanahan said.