NFL Trade Rumors: San Francisco 49ers Considering IR for Running Back Christian McCaffrey

The San Francisco 49ers are willing to take their time with their superstar running back. According to head coach Kyle Shanahan, the 49ers will sit All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey for Week 2's matchup with the Minnesota Vikings and are even considering a trip to injured reserve as he continues to struggle with a calf injury.

More: Kyle Shanahan told reporters that his team now is considering putting Christian McCaffrey on IR. https://t.co/tqusdDRwvr
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 13, 2024

McCaffrey missed much of training camp due to a calf strain and Achilles tendonitis. He has practiced sporadically over the past couple of weeks, but that has so far only resulted in more discomfort. Per Shanahan, Thursday was McCaffrey's "worst day yet" as far as pain is concerned.

The nature of McCaffrey's injury has made his availability very unpredictable in the early portion of the season. He was even expected to play in Week 1 against the New York Jets. Instead, the 49ers started Jordan Mason, who contributed a dominant 152 yards from scrimmage on 29 touches. We can expect to see a lot more of the third-year undrafted free agent on Sunday.

The 49ers have to be frustrated with McCaffrey's continued absence. He's arguably their most valuable player: He led the NFL in rushing yards (1459), yards from scrimmage (2023), and total touchdowns (21) in 2023, earning the Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year award in the process.

McCaffrey's extensive missed time this offseason should be a harsh reminder that health can't be taken for granted at the running back position. Though McCaffrey was as reliable as possible over his first 27 appearances with the 49ers, he is 28 years old and missed 23 games from 2021 to 2022. Fans need only look to other one-time superstars like Ezekiel Elliot (29 years old) and Dalvin Cook (29 years old) to see how quickly a great back can fall from grace.

The 49ers showed on Monday night that they can still run the ball without McCaffrey. They'll miss his unique ability as a receiver out of the backfield, but so long as wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel and tight end George Kittle are all healthy, the 49ers will still field a dominant group of pass catchers. Given the overall talent of their roster, they can afford to give McCaffrey all the time he needs to recover.