In a whirlwind weekend for the football community, the unexpected absence of San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey right before kickoff against the New York Jets on Monday sent shockwaves through the league.
Rumors swirled about the exact nature of McCaffrey’s injury, with teammate Jordan Mason hinting that he knew he would be replacing the star player as early as Friday. However, it wasn’t until Tuesday that San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan provided more insight into McCaffrey’s condition, describing it as day-to-day.
“The Achilles tendonitis and that stuff comes and goes. And when it is acting up, it’s something you’ve got to be very careful about. Christian’s very diligent about that stuff,” Shanahan revealed to Nick Wagoner of ESPN. “And if it was a playoff game, he made it very clear to me he believed he could go.”
McCaffrey has had a history of injuries throughout his professional career, only managing to play 10 games from 2020 to ’21. He also missed the preseason due to what the 49ers labeled as a calf and Achilles injury.
“When you hear that type of stuff and it’s not a playoff game and it’s week one and especially when you’re dealing with the lower extremities like that, it was a tough decision, but hearing all the words in the long run, it made it easy,” Shanahan elaborated on the difficult choice to sit McCaffrey out.
Despite McCaffrey’s absence, the 49ers were able to secure a convincing 32–13 win over the Jets. Looking ahead, San Francisco is now gearing up to face the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, hoping to build on their early season success.