49ers 'Managing' Christian McCaffrey Ahead of Joint Practices

If you are a fan of the San Francisco 49ers, then you know the team has been ravaged by injuries over the last several seasons. Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Nick Bosa, and Fred Warner are just some of the key players who have missed substantial time.

Unfortunately, that trend has not been bucked this summer. The team saw Ricky Pearsall suffer a season-ending injury already, and had one practice last week that featured over 20 players on the injury report.

On Monday, a new name was added to the injury report, and it's one of the names you'd least want to see.

Christian McCaffrey Misses Practice Due to 'Tightness'

ESPN's Nick Wagoner reported that Christian McCaffrey indeed missed Monday's practice. The star running back was reportedly experiencing tightness, but it's not expected to be a long-term issue.

Offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak said the team is "just managing" McCaffrey, and they plan on having him available for Week 1. This likely means that McCaffrey won't participate in the scheduled joint practices with the Tennessee Titans this week.

McCaffrey missing this week of practice won't be a huge deal because he was unlikely to play in the preseason opener anyway. Still, any time McCaffrey is even associated with an injury, it's going to make people nervous.

McCaffrey played in all 17 games for the 49ers last year. The star rushed for 1,202 yards and 10 touchdowns while adding 102 catches for 924 yards and seven more scores. McCaffrey earned his fourth Pro Bowl appearance and was selected to be a First-team All-Pro for the third time.

The 49ers aren't exactly set up to weather a McCaffrey absence in 2025. The team has Jordan James and rookie Kaelon Black next up on the depth chart, so the 49ers could definitely stand to add some depth here.

McCaffrey's Injury History

McCaffrey is entering his 10th NFL season in 2026. The running back has been mostly healthy for all but three of those seasons.

The Stanford product missed all but three games in 2020 due to a high ankle sprain and a shoulder injury. Then, in 2021, McCaffrey only played in seven games thanks to hamstring and ankle injuries.

McCaffrey's most recent notable injury issues came in 2024 when he was limited to four games while battling Achilles tendonitis. McCaffrey came back and looked like his vintage self in 2025, so hopefully this latest injury is just a minor setback.