Christian McCaffrey has fought through multiple injuries this season while helping keep the San Francisco 49ers in playoff contention. However, as the regular season enters its final stretch, the star running back was unexpectedly added to the injury report on Saturday, raising concern throughout the fanbase.
McCaffrey was listed as questionable for the 49ers’ Week 15 matchup against the Tennessee Titans, creating uncertainty around his availability and casting a shadow over San Francisco’s postseason push.
Will Christian McCaffrey Play Against the Titans?
McCaffrey dealt with an illness earlier this week that never posed a serious threat to his availability. The star running back participated fully in Wednesday’s practice before being downgraded to limited on Thursday due to illness. He returned to full participation on Friday and did not appear on the final injury report.
However, San Francisco made a surprising announcement on Saturday by adding McCaffrey back to the injury report with a back issue. The 49ers listed him as questionable for Sunday’s contest against the Titans. While the move caused some concern, insider reports indicate he is expected to play.
“Despite being added to the injury report today as questionable due to a back injury, 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey is expected to be ‘good to go’ Sunday vs. the Titans, per source,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported.
NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport confirmed the report later, stating McCaffrey “should be good to go for Sunday.”
READ MORE: 2026 3-Round NFL Mock Draft: Browns Build Around Shedeur Sanders, While 4 Ohio State Stars Go Early
McCaffrey has appeared in every game this season for San Francisco. The 29-year-old running back needs just 151 more rushing yards to reach 1,000 for the fifth time in his career, with four regular-season games remaining.
As a receiving threat for Brock Purdy and backup quarterback Mac Jones, he has 85 receptions for 806 yards and five touchdown catches, trending toward 1,000 receiving yards for the second time in his career.
McCaffrey’s Fantasy Outlook
Here’s what PFSN analyst Kyle Soppe wrote about McCaffrey’s fantasy outlook against the Titans:
“It’s pretty hard to run for eight touchdowns in a season where you’re picking up just 3.6 yards per carry, but that’s where we are with McCaffrey.
“He’s a special back that excels at making the most of the situation around him for fantasy purposes: this offensive line has given him no room to run, but it hasn’t stopped him from getting into the end zone lately (four rushing scores over his past three games).
“Oh yea, and then there’s the fact that he has 4+ targets in every game this season and caught 29 of his 33 targets in November.
“The knock on CMC coming into the season was his health risk. Well, he’s healthy and fresh off of a bye against one of the worst teams in the NFL: you’ve benefited all season for embracing the minor discount this summer and this is good a spot as you could ask for in the middle of December.”
