The fantasy football world was turned a bit upside down when San Francisco 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey was ruled out for the team’s season opener against the New York Jets.
Does the latest injury update for McCaffrey suggest he will play in Week 2 against the Minnesota Vikings?
Latest Injury Update on Christian McCaffrey
When McCaffrey suffered a calf injury in early August, many fantasy managers were unalarmed when the team labeled his absence from training camp mostly cautionary more than a month before the start of the 2024 NFL season.
Yet, McCaffrey’s injury that caused him to miss his first game in a Niners uniform certainly concerns fantasy managers who invested the No. 1 overall pick in him in their draft.
During the coverage of Monday Night Countdown, ESPN’s Adam Schefter said quote, “It looks like there’s a real strong possibility McCaffrey will not play Sunday against the Vikings as well” regarding his status for Week 2.
McCaffrey has five days to show improvement regarding his injured calf before his status is determined for Week 2.
Will McCaffrey Play This Week?
Given that McCaffrey has already missed the season opener, Schefter using the phrase “real strong possibility” he could be unavailable against Minnesota, and Jordan Mason playing incredibly well in McCaffrey’s absence, it does feel like the star running back’s status is certainly in grave jeopardy of missing his second straight game to start the season.
Fantasy managers will want to closely monitor McCaffrey’s participation in practice on a short week leading up to their showdown against Minnesota to see if he logs a full practice at any point this week.
While Schefter already mentioned the strong possibility of him being out again this week, head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters on Tuesday that McCaffrey would have played in Week 1 if it were a playoff game.
What Does This Mean for McCaffrey and Jordan Mason’s Fantasy Ranking?
Entering this season, it felt like if McCaffrey was active for any game, then he should automatically be atop the weekly fantasy rankings at the RB position in 2024.
That no longer feels like the case, given how long this injury has lingered throughout the preseason and the high level of play we saw from Mason against the Jets.
To give you an idea of just how great Mason was in Week 1, he finished the week as the RB5 overall in full-PPR formats after his 147 rushing yards and a score against a formidable defense.
Should McCaffrey be unavailable against the Vikings, Mason should be in the top 10 discussion at the RB position in Week 2.
What is a bit more unclear is if McCaffrey is able to play this week, what will Mason’s involvement be while the star RB works his way back from an injury?
Will McCaffrey resume his dominating workload? Will he split work with Mason?
That answer feels a bit unclear at the moment. I’d have to imagine they limit McCaffrey’s workload a small bit in an attempt to limit the amount of times he could be exposed to reaggravating the injury.
Yet, if McCaffrey is healthy, it’s hard to imagine a world where he won’t make an appearance inside my top five running backs because of his insanely high ceiling in this offense.