The San Francisco 49ers finish Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season on Monday Night Football against the New York Jets, but they will be without their best player.
Christian McCaffrey has been dealing with a nagging calf injury and after limited practice time, it was believed he would still be good to go. However, the final list of inactives came out an hour before the game kicked off and he was officially ruled out.
A surprise: #49ers RB Christian McCaffrey is inactive tonight against the #Jets, sources tell me and @RapSheet. McCaffrey was listed as questionable after being limited in practice last week with calf/Achilles injuries. McCaffrey had expressed confidence he would play. pic.twitter.com/rLQMXVU3nR
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) September 9, 2024
This feels like the 49ers are being very cautious due to McCaffrey’s previous injury history, especially because it is Week 1 and they want to make sure he is good to go for the rest of the year. We initially covered the fact that despite the injury, McCaffrey himself said he expects to play.
It is a long season and it’s better for the 49ers to make sure he is healthy in the long run, especially because he has had a history of nagging injuries. McCaffrey has a long injury history. The good news is that his history suggests that he will not be out for a long time. The longest McCaffrey has been out due to an injury was six games and that happened twice.
This is a big blow for the San Francisco 49ers and their offense because McCaffrey has been incredible throughout his career and has seemingly only gotten better with the 49ers since departing from the Carolina Panthers. The backup running back is Jordan Mason and he has barely played during his first two seasons with the team. He has not eclipsed 300 rushing yards in either season and he has a total of four rushing touchdowns.
Mason should be in line for a solid game because Kyle Shanahan’s offense revolves around the running game and it favors the running back in most cases. Hopefully, McCaffrey’s injury is not serious and he can come back sooner rather than later.
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