The San Francisco 49ers are cautiously optimistic that star running back Christian McCaffrey could rejoin the team in Week 10.
McCaffrey, who has been sidelined since September 14 with bilateral Achilles tendinitis, is currently staying in Santa Clara to continue rehab, with plans to re-enter practice next week.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan provided an update on McCaffrey’s status in an interview with KNBR, stating that things have been moving in the right direction.
“We hope it does go that way,” Shanahan said. “It’s been trending that way, and it’s been ever since we shut him down and gone through these real slow steps. It’s getting there. He hasn’t had a setback, and hopefully, he has a real good week, and we can get him into practice next week, which obviously would be huge for us.”
McCaffrey’s absence has been noticeable, as the team has struggled with offensive consistency, particularly in the red zone, where the 49ers currently rank among the league’s lowest in touchdown conversions.
While Jordan Mason and rookie Isaac Guerendo have filled in admirably, the 49ers’ red zone efficiency has taken a significant hit.
Last year, with McCaffrey in the lineup, the 49ers were one of the league’s best in converting red-zone visits into touchdowns. This season, the team has been settling for field goals over half the time.
McCaffrey’s recovery has been gradual but promising.
After a challenging start to the year, including a calf strain that kept him out of training camp, McCaffrey’s injury developed into Achilles tendinitis, prompting the 49ers to place him on injured reserve at the start of the season.
As part of his rehab, McCaffrey even traveled to Germany for specialized treatment unavailable in the United States.
“I think it was tough at first when we did it in training camp and then felt like he was going to be ready for Week One,” Shanahan said on ramping up McCaffrey. “And then after we decided to put him on IR I think it’s been pretty easy.
“That’s why we did decide to do that because we knew it was going to be at least a month and shut him down for a while and now build him up slowly and things have been going well. Now it’s going to be nice to get him back, hopefully.”
When McCaffrey does resume practice, the 49ers will have a 21-day window to activate him to the active roster or he’ll remain on IR for the rest of the season.
His return, even if not by Week 10, appears imminent, which is welcome news for a team hungry to regain its offensive rhythm.
The goal now is to bring him back without rushing, especially after a prior attempt led to an aggravation just before the 49ers faced the Minnesota Vikings.
If McCaffrey returns fully healthy, the 49ers could find the offensive consistency they’ve been missing, particularly in high-stakes red-zone situations.
While the Niners are still a loaded team, it’s become clear that a healthy McCaffrey takes them to a whole other level.
At 4-4, the first half of the season hasn’t gone the way the Niners had hoped. However, they remain right in the thick of the playoff picture.
Assuming McCaffrey returns to the team with the same juice we’ve become accustomed to, would you consider the 49ers the favorites to come out of the NFC despite their current mediocre record???