It’s been an arduous year for Christian McCaffrey. A lingering Achilles injury cost him the first nine weeks of the season. Now, after just four games, he’s back on the shelf. What injury is McCaffrey dealing with, and what is his timetable for a return to the field?
What Is Christian McCaffrey’s Injury?
Early in training camp, McCaffrey strained his calf, sidelining him for the entire preseason (not that he was going to play, anyway). Ahead of Week 1, McCaffrey practiced in full but was ultimately held out due to Achilles tendinitis. As it turned out, that injury was far more serious than we realized, and McCaffrey wound up being sidelined until Week 10.
Upon his return, McCaffrey looked mostly like his former self, even if the gaudy numbers weren’t there. Unfortunately, he never got a chance to really get going, as he lasted a mere four games.
On a shoestring tackle against the Bills, McCaffrey hurt his knee. Pro Football Doc, Dr. David Chao, immediately identified it as a possible PCL sprain. After the game, head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed Chao’s suspicions.
When Will McCaffrey Return From Injury?
Given all of the injuries McCaffrey has dealt with, a PCL sprain is relatively minor. The injury itself is not automatically season-ending. However, a PCL sprain that occurs in Week 13 is.
McCaffrey’s expected timeline to return is roughly six weeks. There are only five weeks left in the regular season, and the 49ers are almost certainly not going to the playoffs. He has been placed on IR, which means the earliest he can return is Week 18. That won’t happen. McCaffrey is not going to play again this year.
This injury won’t have any lingering effects on McCaffrey for next year. The bigger concern is this is a player with a lengthy injury history who will be entering his age-29 season. But this particular issue will be well behind him by the time 2025 training camp rolls around.
How Will McCaffrey’s Absence Impact the 49ers?
I saw this tweet after the news broke, and it really struck me as accurate.
CMC has never had an “average” season.
He either wins you your league single-handedly or is the worst pick of all-time.
— David J. Gautieri (@GuruFantasyWrld) December 2, 2024
McCaffrey has never merely been “okay.” Saquon Barkley is breaking fantasy this year now that he’s fully healthy and actually on a great offense. But in the past, Barkley has given us “okay” years, most notably his 15.9 fantasy points per game in 2023. That has never been the case for McCaffrey.
The 49ers RB was “okay” as a rookie, averaging 14.3 fantasy points per game in 2017. Other than that, he’s been an elite RB1, averaging at least 21.0 ppg, or he’s played less than half the season. Nothing in between.
When McCaffrey exited the game, the 49ers turned back to Jordan Mason, who served as their RB1 over the first two months of the season while CMC was recovering from his Achilles tendinitis. Mason would have been the clear beneficiary and the main guy going forward, but he suffered a high ankle sprain that also landed him on IR.
Down to their RB4, the lead back for the remainder of the season, if he can stay healthy, will be rookie fourth-rounder Isaac Guerendo. He scored 19.2 fantasy points in the lone game in which he played more than 50% of the snaps back in Week 8 against the Cowboys.
This version of the 49ers’ offense is nowhere near as potent as previous years. McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk are done for the year. At nearly 29 years old, Father Time appears to have hit Deebo Samuel Sr. rather hard. Their most impactful offensive players have been George Kittle and Jauan Jennings.
Playing out a lost season in a year where a team has Super Bowl aspirations can be challenging for players. But this is a big opportunity for Guerendo to possibly earn the RB2 role for next year.