The San Francisco 49ers are used to hearing that their players are injured. After dealing with injuries on offense throughout the season, the 49ers thought they were in the clear heading into the postseason relatively healthy. That wasn’t the case. George Kittle tore his Achilles in the Wild Card round, and now Christian McCaffrey is on the sideline in the Divisional Round.
What Happened to Christian McCaffrey?
McCaffrey picked up an apparent shoulder injury late in the first half trying to deliver a chip block to DeMarcus Lawrence. Then, he banged into a Seattle defender with the shoulder again. He got medical attention on the sideline and wasn’t on the field to start the second half.
He didn’t return to the game on the first drive of the second half, and his status was unclear. It did not look good for him with Brian Robinson Jr. and Jordan James getting the snaps to start the second half. The 49ers were already down in the gutter, trailing by three scores, and not having McCaffrey made it even harder.
Christian McCaffrey was not on the field to start the 49ers’ first drive in the 2nd half.
Tom Rinaldi has the latest: pic.twitter.com/nZA61iNPTU— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) January 18, 2026
Fortunately, the 49ers got their star back in the middle of the third quarter. McCaffrey returned, but his time on the field was short-lived after Brock Purdy threw an interception shortly after his return. He should be out there for their next drive and will continue to play until this game gets out of hand.
McCaffrey has dealt with numerous injuries at points in his career, but he was one of the few 49ers to stay healthy for the entire season. He carried this team throughout the year tallying over 2,000 yards from scrimmage. He was the 7th-ranked running back in PFSN’s RB Impact Metric with an impact score of 78.1.
San Francisco’s season is coming to an end. They were dealt a tough hand with all their injuries and scratched and clawed their way to 12 wins, including a playoff win. There’s only so much a team can endure, though, before running into a team much healthier than them that happens to be the top team in the NFC.
The Seahawks look dominant and ready to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. Whatever team has the unfortunate pleasure of taking on Seattle will have their work cut out for them because the 49ers are a good team and are getting the brakes beaten off them.
Editor’s Note: This is a breaking news story and will be updated throughout the day as more information becomes available.
