There has been no more reliable fantasy football option in the past two seasons than Christian McCaffrey. Despite changing teams during last season, McCaffrey has been a top-two running back for fantasy in each of the last two years while playing 33 of the 34 games during that stretch.
Unfortunately, McCaffrey does have some injury concerns in his history, which caused him to miss 13 games in 2019 and 10 games in 2021. Those injury issues have reared their head again already in 2024, with McCaffrey missing all of the preseason camp with a nagging calf injury.
What Happened to Christian McCaffrey?
Early in training camp, McCaffrey strained his calf. The 49ers mostly downplayed the issue, maintaining all along they were just being extra cautious.
It’s not as if McCaffrey needs a ton of practice, and he was never going to play in the preseason anyway. By all accounts, he was good to go for Week 1.
On Thursday, McCaffrey was limited at practice. Later in the season, this would mean literally nothing. But it’s Week 1. This is the one week where everyone should be healthy and practicing in full leading up to the game. That is already not the case for CMC.
Perhaps more concerning this week was the discussion of an Achilles issue. Initially, that seemed like it might be something new, but Kyle Shanahan told us it was part of the original calf issue. Therefore, the positive news is that this was not a major set back or a new complication of that original injury.
McCaffrey remained at practice all week but did not progress, rather remaining limited all week before being tagged as questionable ahead of Monday Night Football. Then, shortly before the game started, McCaffrey was officially announced as inactive.
Christian McCaffrey Announced Inactive Against Jets
With McCaffrey out, the entire landscape of this game changes for the San Francisco 49ers offense. The first player you should see rise to the moment is Jordan Mason.
Mason had a strong preseason, and camp reports about the young running back were glowing. Isaac Guerendo will also be thrown into the mix now. Guerendo should be viewed as the third-down back for most of this game, with Mason taking on the workhorse title.
Another player who should be on your radar to see more work is Deebo Samuel Sr.. They will use Samuel’s ability to work out of the backfield to their advantage and to help create a mismatch against a solid Jets defense.
With reports that Brandon Aiyuk will see a decreased workload to allow him to ramp up properly after his contract holdout, Samuel should have the opportunity to take this game over. If you want to keep players like Sauce Gardner off of Samuel, your best bet is to run him out of the backfield and use his strength as a pseudo-running back.
We can also expect a more significant production level from George Kittle. Kittle tends to fade into the background when the slew of pass-catching talent on the 49ers offense are all healthy and available. Whenever any of them misses time, Kittle tends to shine.
We should expect more passing attempts from Brock Purdy in this game down the seam to avoid Gardner and the rest of the defensive backs while trying to create a mismatch against linebackers who can’t stop the uber-athletic Kittle.
How Long Could McCaffrey Be Out For?
On Monday Night Countdown, ESPN’s Adam Schefter provided more background on McCaffrey’s calf injury and how long he could be sidelined for.
Adam Schefter offers more details on Christian McCaffrey after "speaking to various 49ers officials."
He adds, "It looks like there's a real strong possibility McCaffrey will not play Sunday against the Vikings as well." #NFL https://t.co/XG632FaAJa pic.twitter.com/kG34jnMHdr
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 9, 2024
While Schefter’s makes it seem like the 49ers wanted to play it safe with McCaffrey’s injury, he did mention that there is a real possibility he doesn’t play in Week 2 against the Minnesota Vikings.
On a short turnaround after playing on Monday Night Football, McCaffrey’s practice availability will be worth monitoring all week, but be prepared for him to miss at least another week.