Most fantasy managers who made the decision to select San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey have likely been on the edge of their seats ever since, not knowing his playing status each of the first two weeks of the season.
Here is the latest on McCaffrey’s injury and whether he will be in the lineup for Sunday’s game at the Minnesota Vikings.
Will Christian McCaffrey Play in Week 2 vs. the Minnesota Vikings?
On Friday afternoon, Christian McCaffrey was officially ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Vikings due to calf and Achilles injuries. This will be the second straight game McCaffrey has sat out, as he also missed the 49ers’ season-opening win over the New York Jets on Monday night.
In addition, according to Matt Barrows of The Athletic, the 49ers are now considering a trip to the IR for their star running back. Barrows reports that 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said McCaffrey was dealing with pain following Thursday’s practice.
An injury that could cost McCaffrey most, if not all, of this season, would be a major setback for the 49ers in their quest to return to the Super Bowl.
McCaffrey is the league’s premier running back and the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year. He ran for a career-high and league-best 1,459 yards last season and had an NFL-high 21 total touchdowns.
While Week 1 turned out to be the first game McCaffrey missed with the 49ers due to injury, this will be the third straight regular-season game McCaffrey will miss for San Francisco. McCaffrey sat out the 49ers’ final regular-season game of the 2023 season to rest up for the playoffs.
Update 09/14/24: It is now official. The 49ers placed McCaffrey on IR ahead of the Saturday deadline to call players up from the practice squad, presumably to open up a roster spot for Sunday’s game.
It’s important to note this move is not retroactive. The clock begins with this week’s game, meaning the earliest McCaffrey can return would now be Week 6. It sure looks like Mason is an every-week RB1 in the interim.
Who are the Other Fantasy Options To Consider on the 49ers?
If Week 1 was any indication, the 49ers are comfortable letting backup Jordan Mason handle the workload at the running back position.
Mason, in his third season after signing with the 49ers in 2022 as an undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech, had career-highs in rush attempts (28), touches (29), and rushing yards (147) in the 49ers’ Week 1 win.
Mason became only the fourth 49ers player to have at least 140 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in the last 10 years, joining McCaffrey (Week 1, 2023), Raheem Mostert (Week 13, 2019), and Carlos Hyde (Week 1, 2015).
Mason was on the field for 58 offensive snaps in Week 1, which not only was a single-game career-high but almost 30 more than his previous high of 27.
Mason’s 22.2 fantasy points were the fifth-most of any running back in Week 1. In that game alone, he accounted for almost half of his total fantasy points for the entire 2023 season (44.7).
And considering that behind McCaffrey and Mason on the 49ers’ running back depth chart are Isaac Guerendo and Patrick Taylor Jr., two players who accumulated zero fantasy points in Week 1, it’s safe to assume that Mason will handle the heavy workload once again for the 49ers in Week 2.