Tag: Christian McCaffrey

When is Christian McCaffrey coming back for 49ers?

Here’s the potential timeline for Christian McCaffrey’s return.

All signs point to running back Christian McCaffrey returning for the San Francisco 49ers shortly after their Week 9 Bye.

But what exactly does McCaffrey’s timeline look like?

Nothing will happen officially until the 49ers’ Bye week ends. They’re technically off through Sunday. They’ll have a bonus practice Monday and head coach Kyle Shanahan said the hope is to have McCaffrey on the field for that practice.

In order to get McCaffrey back for that session, the 49ers will have to open his 21-day practice window Monday. That’s when we can expect that official announcement.

Since the team isn’t holding any Bye week practices, McCaffrey will be ramping up his rehab with simulated workouts during the week off to ensure his Achilles responds well before joining a live practice.

What’ll be interesting is whether McCaffrey can get ready to return with one full week of practice.

He’d get Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to participate before playing in the 49ers’ Week 10 showdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

If he needs just one week of practice, which is the same amount of time wide receiver Ricky Pearsall needed for his ramp up, the team would officially activate him off IR on Saturday, Nov. 9. If he’s not activated then, it means he’ll need to wait at least another week.

If his 21-day window opens Monday, as expected, it means the 49ers will have until Nov. 25 to either activate him or place him on season-ending IR.

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Why 49ers won’t make big splash at 2024 trade deadline

The 49ers will likely be active at the trade deadline, but don’t expect them to make a big splash.

The San Francisco 49ers are in a weird place as the 2024 NFL trade deadline approaches.

They entered this year hoping to make another Super Bowl run, and their 4-4 record has them in the thick of the playoff race as the get to their Week 9 Bye. On the other hand, San Francisco through eight weeks hasn’t looked like a Super Bowl contender, which makes the trade deadline an important point for them in the 2024 campaign.

While a big-time trade may be what the 49ers ultimately need to get over the hump, don’t expect them to push all their chips in for a run this season.

The 49ers’ front office has been aggressive in making acquisitions since general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan took over. That’s especially true when they feel like such moves will help them win a Super Bowl. However, they’ve typically juxtaposed that ‘all-in’ mentality with an eye toward the future. There’s an immediate plan, but there’s also a longer term vision that includes the three-plus years down the road.

A longer-term vision may be what keeps them from unloading premium assets in a trade during a season where they’ve started 4-4.

The 49ers are in something of a transition period with their roster where the next three or four years will see an exodus of the core veterans that have kept their championship window open since the 2019 season. Players like left tackle Trent Williams, fullback Kyle Juszczyk and tight end George Kittle are reaching a point where they won’t be substantial parts of the team in three or four years. That job belongs to the likes of quarterback Brock Purdy, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, defensive end Nick Bosa and linebacker Fred Warner. They represent a new core that would ideally throw open a new Super Bowl window.

That group will need the support of draft picks that will theoretically replace some of the exiting veterans.

In some ways the 49ers are already feeling the sting of losing three first-round picks in the Trey Lance trade before the 2021 draft. The lack of top-end depth has hurt them as veterans have gotten too expensive to keep and injuries have forced the club to dig deeper into their depth chart. That shrinks their margin for error with the selections that will help comprise their new core of players on a Super Bowl contender.

It’s hard to believe a team that’s generally so focused on the future will push all its chips in to try and make a run with this 2024 club.

Instead of using premium future draft capital, they’ll likely aim to shell out some later-round picks for depth along the defensive line, or wherever the team believes it most needs the assistance. That’ll allow them to thread the needle between trying to contend this year without mortgaging their future.

Some better depth at a couple of key spots combined with the impending return of reigning Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey should be enough to at least put the 49ers in the conversation when it comes to this year’s Super Bowl.

A big splash in the trade market would definitely put them there, but there’s too much at stake in the future for the 49ers to go make such a splash now.

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Christian McCaffrey feigned looking forlorn in his Halloween costume with wife Olivia Culpo

Or was he really not happy with it?

Christian McCaffrey and Olivia Culpo just got married a few months ago, and now they’re doing some awesome couples costumes.

Now, I’m sure this is just an act, but it’s a very funny one: the injured (but coming back soon!) San Francisco 49ers running back was the Tin Man to Culpo’s Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, but McCaffrey looked nonplussed … unless he was trying to do the Tin Man needing oil.

Either way, there are smiles at the end, and it’s very sweet. Plus, their dog was Toto!

Check it out in a series of TikToks from Culpo’s account:

@oliviadangerculpo

Lol Toto tooooo

♬ original sound – 🕸 • 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 • 🕸

@oliviadangerculpo

You’re doing great, sweetie !

♬ Monsters, Inc – Gustav Lundgren & Unit

@oliviadangerculpo

Toto’s not quite ready for the yellow brick road 🐾😭 #HoldOnToto

♬ original sound – Tyler Shields

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USA TODAY has intriguing idea for how 49ers can use offensive superstar

Could something of a position change be coming for Christian McCaffrey?

There are clear ways the return of running back Christian McCaffrey will help the San Francisco 49ers.

They’ve been one of the most efficient offenses in the NFL through eight weeks. They’re No. 2 in the league in yards per play and No. 2 in percentage of drives that end in a score. Despite that, they’re No. 8 in total scoring because they’ve struggled to find the end zone.

McCaffrey’s return should help them dramatically in that area. However, they’ll have to be judicious in the way they deploy the reigning Offensive Player of the Year. That’s where USA TODAY’s Nate Davis offered an interesting idea for how the 49ers can use McCaffrey.

In his weekly power rankings, Davis called for something of a position change for McCaffrey:

If Christian McCaffrey and his Achilles issues are indeed on the other side of this week’s bye, you wonder if the Niners should maybe deploy him more heavily in the slot to bolster a weakened receiver corps and let RBs Jordan Mason and Isaac Guerendo continue doing their spectacular work out of the backfield.

This is an interesting idea!

McCaffrey’s Achilles tendinitis will require a little bit of management from the 49ers, meaning they’re unlikely to be able to lean on him for 21-plus touches per game like they did last year.

Using McCaffrey as a receiver isn’t a novel idea. He lined up in the slot or out wide on 17.7 percent of his snaps last season, and averaged 11.1 snaps at those two spots per game.

Perhaps if the 49ers want to lighten McCaffrey’s overall workload without removing him from the field, they can utilize him as a receiver on something closer to 30 percent of his snaps. From there they can sprinkle in Mason and Guerendo to ensure they’re getting touches for the other players in their backfield as well.

At the same time, they’d be taking some of the onus off of WRs Chris Conley, Ricky Pearsall, Jacob Cowing and Ronnie Bell to be playmakers in the passing game.

Don’t be surprised if the 49ers utilize some form of this strategy once McCaffrey returns. It may not be a 30 percent snap rate at receiver, but we can expect an uptick in his playing time at that spot as the club tries to ensure they’re keeping him as healthy as possible to try and make a playoff run.

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49ers injury updates from Kyle Shanahan heading into Bye week

Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel and Jordan Mason headline a laundry list of injury updates from Kyle Shanahan on Monday.

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke with reporters on a conference call Monday and provided some injury updates for the team heading into their Week 9 Bye.

Shanahan said wide receiver Deebo Samuel is considered day-to-day with a rib injury and an oblique strain. It’s unclear what his status would be if the 49ers had a game in Week 9, but having a week off to get right should be helpful for the 49ers’ former All-Pro WR.

Samuel had a good game Sunday night against the Dallas Cowboys before exiting with what the team classified as a rib injury. He had four catches for 71 yards and four carries for 15 yards. He also had a 66-yard touchdown catch wiped out because of a penalty. Samuel will be re-evaluated after the Bye.

Running back Jordan Mason also left Sunday’s game early after re-injuring the shoulder he hurt in Week 6. Shanahan on Sunday night told reporters Mason might have been able to re-enter the game, but they stuck with rookie Isaac Guerendo who was having a strong performance.

Mason will also be re-evaluated after the Bye week.

It stands to reason the 49ers won’t need him to shoulder as much of the workload after the Bye with Christian McCaffrey expected to return. However, if his shoulder isn’t right, we could see Guerendo take over the RB2 carries while Mason heals.

Rookie cornerback Renardo Green, who was the 49ers’ highest-graded defensive player by Pro Football Focus on Sunday night, hurt his ankle late in the game. Shanahan said he’s day-to-day, which is a good sign that he’ll be okay after the week off.

Second-year linebacker Dee Winters has also been diagnosed with a concussion and is in the concussion protocol. He took a pair of hard hits to the head while making a special teams tackle Sunday night.

Meanwhile, the receiving corps took another hit. Veteran WR Chris Conley is dealing with a hamstring injury and is considered week-to-week.

Some good news on that front though: Shanahan said the team is expecting Jauan Jennings to return after the Bye from a hip injury that cost him Weeks 7 and 8. Jennings is third on the 49ers in receiving yards and second in receiving touchdowns despite missing their last two contests.

Shanahan also reiterated the plan is for McCaffrey’s practice window Monday after the Bye in hopes of getting him a bonus practice that day and a full week of practice to ramp up for their Week 10 game in Tampa Bay. McCaffrey will go through a simulated week of practice over the Bye to ensure he’s ready to return to action for the first time this season.

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49ers offense gets boost from unlikely source vs. Cowboys

Shoutout to Isaac Guerendo.

The San Francisco 49ers’ offense was stuck in a little bit of a rut Sunday night against the Dallas Cowboys, but an unlikely hero helped them turn it around.

In the first half of a 30-24 win over the Cowboys, the 49ers scored only six points. Their run game in particular struggled with running back Jordan Mason churning out only 18 yards on six carries in the first quarter and change.

A shoulder injury wound up forcing Mason into the locker room before halftime, opening the door for rookie fourth-round pick Isaac Guerendo. He entered the game with just 23 carries on the season, including only one in Week 7 against the Chiefs.

Sunday wasn’t the first time Guerendo got an opportunity for extended playing time, but it was certainly his best outing. He rushed for 85 yards on 14 carries and scored his first-career touchdown. He also got to 85 yards with a long run of just 19.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters after the game that the improvement for Guerendo has been clear.

“I think he’s learned from each run he’s gotten,” Shanahan said. “There are a couple runs earlier in the year that he did alright on, but we grade him pretty hard, everybody pretty hard. And he had a couple, like four-yard runs we thought he could have got seven yards on. We go pretty hard on him. And then you watch how he takes that to practice and everything we’ve really kind of been pushing him with, he’s been real coachable, he’s not a sensitive guy, he’s real detailed and he’s very poised for a rookie. Things aren’t too big for him and didn’t get a lot of preseason, but once he got healthy there and throughout this year, I feel he’s gotten better each week.”

Guerendo also played a big role in the 49ers’ Week 6 win over the Seattle Seahawks, but he struggled to find running room in that game before a 76-yard run late in the fourth quarter helped the 49ers seal the victory. He finished the game with 10 carries for 99 yards.

He was more consistent Sunday night with runs of 19 and 15 yards on his first two touches. He flashed his speed and his power, and in general looked more patient in waiting for running lanes to develop.

Shanahan also said Guerendo was running well enough that they didn’t even try to put Mason back in the game after he came out for the second half with his helmet on — a sign he was ready to go.

Guerendo rewarded the 49ers’ faith in him by going for 47 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries in the second half. He also contributed as a pass catcher, hauling in three of his four targets for 17 yards.

The talent has always been apparent with Guerendo, he just wasn’t catching on the way we’ve seen other RBs do in Shanahan’s scheme. Sunday night was his coming out party and it came in a game where the 49ers desperately needed their run game to get rolling to help them turn things around after a rough first half.

With Christian McCaffrey set to return soon, Guerendo may not get another opportunity as a lead RB this season, but he took his opportunity Sunday night and played well enough to be a major cog in a huge 49ers victory.

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When will Christian McCaffrey return from injury for the 49ers? Here’s the latest update in Week 8

Here’s the latest about CMC before Week 8.

It hasn’t been THAT surprising that the San Francisco 49ers have been doing pretty well running the ball without the injured Christian McCaffrey as Jordan Mason has stepped in well.

But let’s face it: no one is like McCaffrey, who was the NFL’s offensive player of the year after a monster year of running and catching the football.

Which is why Niners fans are still waiting to see when he’ll return from Achilles tendinitis in both legs, an issue that landed him on the IR in Week 2. While he was eligible to return in Week 6, he didn’t come back yet.

So … what’s the latest?

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported earlier this week that “there’s a very good chance” that the 49ers running back is back after the Niners’ bye week after Sunday night’s game against the Dallas Cowboys.

So that would mean November 10 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Good news for the Niners and those who have him in fantasy football.

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Christian McCaffrey update: Practice window may open during Bye week

Christian McCaffrey’s practice window may open soon!

The San Francisco 49ers appear to be inching closer toward a return for star running back Christian McCaffrey.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Monday intimated the team was hoping to get the 2023 Offensive Player of the Year back shortly after their Week 9 Bye.

When asked Wednesday about McCaffrey, Shanahan said he’s hopeful the 21-day practice window will open for him during the team’s Bye week.

Since McCaffrey is on IR with his Achilles tendinitis, he can’t take part in any practices with the team. He is allowed to do rehab and solo on-field work. It would make sense that the team wants to maximize his ramp up with on-field team work.

By opening his window during the Bye, they’ll be able to have him for any workouts they do during their week off. Even if there’s no Bye week work, he’ll be able to take part in the Monday bonus practice after the Bye, and then in a full week of practices leading up to the team’s Week 10 matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

That would give him at least four practices before suiting up in a game, which may be enough for a player with McCaffrey’s experience.

One advantage the 49ers have in this situation is that third-year RB Jordan Mason has been a star with McCaffrey out. That’ll allow San Francisco to ease McCaffrey into work without overdoing it in games.

Managing his Achilles tendinitis is going to be a major task for the 49ers the rest of the way, and how successful they are in doing that may determine whether they can make another playoff run this season.

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49ers breakout star Jordan Mason isn’t satisfied with strong start to 2024

Jordan Mason knows how great Christian McCaffrey is. Now he wants to be better.

There aren’t many stories in the NFL this season better than San Francisco 49ers running back Jordan Mason.

The third-year undrafted rookie RB entered the season with 83 career carries and looked to be in line for another year a seldom-used reserve behind reigning Offensive Player of the Year, Christian McCaffrey. Now he’s the NFL’s second-leading rusher and San Francisco’s workhorse back while McCaffrey nurses bi-lateral Achilles tendinitis.

Mason isn’t satisfied with simply being a good story, though.

He joined the Candlestick Chronicles podcast with Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (launching October 25!), and said even before his new role emerged he was setting goals for himself to be the 49ers’ best running back.

“You gotta have goals within yourself, honestly,” Mason said. “I mean, I know who Christian McCaffrey is, and I wanna be better than him. He’s great, but I wanna be greater. So that’s my motivation in life.  I want to get better as myself. I want to get better — like I see my kids, when they look at me, they look at me like Superman. So I’ve gotta be Superman for them. So just things like that. You’ve gotta be motivated. You’ve gotta have that fire in you.”

While Mason has work to do to surpass McCaffrey, he’s off to a good start in his first stretch as a full-time, No. 1 back. His 5.2 yards per carry are the third-highest among players with at least 100 rushes, and he’s on pace to churn out 1,619 rushing yards — 232 more than McCaffrey’s career-high.

Perhaps the most impressive part of Mason’s strong start is that he’s maintained his productivity despite an unprecedented workload. He had his NFL career-high in carries for a season after only two games. Now he’s 44 carries shy of his career high in carries at Georgia Tech. He had 172 attempts in the 2019 campaign.

Mason said the expanded role hasn’t changed the way he handles himself during the season, save for some body maintenance.

“Honestly, you don’t want to change a lot,” Mason said. “Cuz then you start getting in your head thinking ‘oh you gotta do this. Oh you gotta do that.’ Like Christian even told me. He was like, ‘dude, just do you. What you’ve done has got you here, so just continue to do you.’ And that’s literally what he told me from himself, so I’m just staying the same. Obviously you’ve gotta do more things with maintaining your body. I’ve done acupuncture more times than ever before.”

The star RB admitted he isn’t a fan of needles, but he’s gotten used to the acupuncture treatment.

As the 49ers’ stumble toward their Week 9 Bye, they’re under a microscope with a 3-4 record after entering the season as a Super Bowl favorite.

While there are several ways to parse just what’s wrong with the 49ers this season, their offense is a particular aspect that’s drawn some scrutiny. They’ve made some changes to how they operate on that side of the ball with more downfield passing and fewer short throws that generate yards after the catch.

There’s still a heavy emphasis on the run game, and while Mason didn’t want to talk about some of the larger changes to San Francisco’s offensive approach, he knows exactly what his role is supposed to be when his number is called.

“I’m not gonna say too much about that,” Mason said. “All I know is when Brock Purdy wants to give me the ball, I’m there and I’m ready.”

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49ers injury news underscores need for Christian McCaffrey return

The San Francisco 49ers have never needed Christian McCaffrey back more than they do now.

It isn’t news that running back and reigning Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey is a key cog in the 49ers’ offensive system.

It also isn’t news that his return should provide a substantial boost for a San Francisco offense that’s been struggling to find the end zone without him in 2024.

New developments coming out of the team’s Week 7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs highlight just how important McCaffrey’s return will be for the 49ers.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Monday in a conference call with reporters confirmed that wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk tore his ACL and MCL in Sunday’s loss. He also said tight end George Kittle is day-to-day with a foot sprain, and WR Jauan Jennings is still dealing with a hip injury that held him out of Week 7. WR Deebo Samuel is also hospitalized with pneumonia and his timetable for a return is unknown.

Shanahan also mentioned in his conference call that the team hopes to get McCaffrey back right after their Week 9 Bye.

Even if Kittle, Jennings and Samuel are all back by that Bye week, McCaffrey’s presence will be a massive help for the offense without Aiyuk in the lineup. Aiyuk is the only receiver the 49ers have who consistently separates against man coverage, and he’s a threat in all three levels of the passing game.

Having McCaffrey back will help Shanahan better manipulate defenders and open space for some of the other playmakers who made need some scheme assistance to get open and operate in the spaces they’re used to operating in.

There was never a point in the year where the 49ers weren’t going to need McCaffrey back, but their dire injury situation makes his return even more vital if San Francisco wants to make the playoffs and make noise when they get there.

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