Christian McCaffrey’s status will continue to be judged on the fly, his availability to be determined by how he’s feeling with an eye toward the long haul rather than a specific Sunday.
McCaffrey was a surprise scratch from Monday night’s 32-19 win over the New York Jets at Levi’s Stadium, with a calf/Achilles’ injury.
And it’s been an issue that’s been going on for some time, meaning there could be a lot more Jordan Mason in the 49ers’ immediate future with the Minnesota Vikings coming up in Week 2 on the road.
Mason gained 147 yards on 28 carries, both career highs, and had a touchdown against the Jets.
McCaffrey had a calf strain in Week 17 last season against Washington, then sat out the regular season finale against the Los Angeles Rams. He was on the injury report with a calf injury in the divisional playoff win over Green Bay, but made it through the playoffs.
However, McCaffrey, long a tempo-setting dervish in practice, stayed out of the fray for the most part while a two-year contract extension was negotiated. At the club’s mandatory minicamp in July, McCaffrey told the NFL Network he was fine and he’d be playing if it was a real game.
Except when the real games started, McCaffrey isn’t playing. Why? According to coach Kyle Shanahan, because it’s not a playoff game.
“If it was a playoff game, he made it very clear to me that he believed he could go,” Shanahan said Tuesday in a conference call with local writers. “But when you hear that type of stuff and it’s not a playoff game and it’s Week 1 — especially if you’re dealing with lower extremities like that — it was a tough decision. But hearing all the words and stuff, in the long run it made it easy.”
In any event, McCaffrey’s condition will be watched closely with an eye toward keeping him healthy through the season rather than risking further injury in a delicate area that is prone to setbacks and re-injury.
“It’s not just a calf, it’s an Achilles’ and and Achilles’ tendonitis and that stuff comes and goes,” Shanahan said. “When it’s acting up it’s something you’ve got to be very careful about.”
It was a calf/Achilles’ condition in 2019 that led to the Warriors’ Kevin Durant eventually rupturing his Achilles’ in the NBA Finals. Linebacker Dre Greenlaw was sidelined with Achilles’ tendonitis in Week 18 against the Rams last season and eventually blew out his Achilles’ running on to the field in the Super Bowl.
So while McCaffrey is being listed as “day to day,” go ahead and assume the 49ers won’t put last year’s NFL Offensive Player of the Year back in the lineup until they believe the risk is minimal.
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Shanahan said the only other injuries coming out of the Jets game were a calf injury to guard Aaron Banks and an ankle injury to wide receiver Jauan Jennings. Both, Shanahan said will be day to day.
Determinations of defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos (knee) and safety Talanoa Hufanga (knee) will be made during the course of the week as to whether they’re available to face Minnesota, Shanahan said.
More to come on this breaking story . . .