The San Francisco 49ers are getting set to take action in their second game of the 2024 preseason slate. However, while a handful of the team’s starters will get action against the New Orleans Saints, star running back Christian McCaffrey’s status is a bit different.
Will Christian McCaffrey Play vs. the Saints?
The 49ers initially had joint practices scheduled this week with the Saints, but those were ultimately canceled because of a string of injuries the team has been dealing with.
Despite that, head coach Kyle Shanahan announced that several of the team’s starters, including quarterback Brock Purdy, would play.
“It’s always nice when you get to go up against a different look, different guys and stuff,” said Purdy. “So we definitely missed that this week. But at the same time, we’re doing it for the right reasons. So I’m excited for Sunday to be able to get some new looks and being able to run our offense against guys that haven’t seen it every day. So that’s also going to be nice, but get in, be efficient, be clean with it, and compete.”
While starters will play, McCaffrey will not, as he has one of the injuries the 49ers have been dealing with. He had been dealing with a calf injury since early August.
As a result, McCaffrey missed some practices, didn’t play in the first preseason game, and likely won’t play in any at all.
“He did it a couple days ago,” said Shanahan back on Aug. 6. “It’s all right. He didn’t pull it or anything, but you guys probably won’t see him this preseason.”
While he won’t play, McCaffrey ramped up his activity level in practice late in the week., running half-speed routes on the side.
There don’t appear to be any serious concerns about McCaffrey’s Week 1 status, especially as he has over three weeks to continue getting healthy.
In addition to McCaffrey, there is hope the 49ers will be able to get rookie receiver Ricky Pearsall and offensive lineman Aaron Banks back by Week 1.
Pearsall has been dealing with a shoulder injury, while Banks broke his pinky.
Both Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams also have had uncertain statuses as they have held out of camp for contract reasons.