Christian McCaffrey injury update: Status of 49ers RB revealed vs. Seahawks

Chrisian McCaffrey‘s appearance on the 49ers Week 1 injury report was a setback no fantasy football owner wanted to hear. However, they’ll be pleased to know that he’s available to play on Sunday vs. Seattle.

“The 49ers are not concerned,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter said on Sunday NFL Countdown. “A slight little issue in practice on Thursday. They felt like they tested him out, and they are not concerned.

“He will be out there. He will be starting and if you have him on your fantasy team, again, you put him in because he’s good to go and they’re not concerned.”

McCaffrey, who was dealing with a calf injury, said during the week that he felt like he’d be able to play for the 49ers in their season opener. However, San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan was non-committal on his status.

The star running back was questionable against the Seahawks entering Sunday. Now, it appears he’ll be ready to suit up in time for kickoff at 4:05 p.m. ET.

Of course, McCaffrey’s injury history has been well-documented throughout his career. McCaffrey’s season was hampered by injury last year. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler noted that the team does not want a repeat of 2024.

“It’s more of an injury prevention thing,” Fowler said on Saturday. “… Just considering his past, how things went early last season on that calf, they want to take it slowly with him. So he was limited Thursday, and an issue popped up, sort of flared up Friday.”

When McCaffrey is healthy, he’s one of the best running backs in the game and a major threat in the passing game out of the backfield. His dual-threat ability as a running back has made him invaluable to the 49ers. Keeping him on the field as much as possible is likely a top priority for San Francisco moving forward.

The 49ers brought in some running back depth this year behind Christian McCaffrey, however. They made a deal with the Washington Commanders to acquire Brian Robinson, who came in ahead of Isaac Guerendo on the initial depth chart earlier this week.

If McCaffrey is on any sort of pitch count, Robinson might see a heavier workload in Week 1 than he would have otherwise. In Washington, Robinson rushed for over 700 yards in each of his first three seasons in the NFL and has 20 total touchdowns to his credit over that span.