Christian McCaffrey injury: 49ers RB surfaces on injury report days ahead of Week 1 vs. Seahawks

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey has surfaced on the team’s injury report ahead of Sunday’s Week 1 road contest against the Seattle Seahawks. McCaffrey has a calf injury and was limited in practice Thursday, per Cam Inman of Bay Area News Group. He was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice.

McCaffrey, 29, missed the first eight games of the 2024 season with a calf and Achilles injury. He returned to play the next four games before a knee injury forced him to miss the final five games of the season. McCaffrey rushed for 202 yards and had 146 receiving yards in the four games he played. He led the league in rushing the previous season, winning the AP Offensive Player of the Year award.

His latest calf injury is something to monitor over the coming days. The 49ers were a heavily injured bunch last season, resulting in a 6-11 season one year removed from a Super Bowl appearance. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said last week he was expecting a “hell of a year” out of McCaffrey.

Christian McCaffrey’s calf injury is something to monitor

“I like to watch how a guy moves and how he is out there, and I see Christian looking the same as he always has looked,” Shanahan said on KNBR. “So, I don’t really think about that number [his age] when it comes to that case. Now, if he started looking different, then I’d probably start questioning some things, and then I’d probably be looking at how old he is or look at that 30 thing.

“But Christian gives us no reason to think that. He came in healthy this year. He had a hell of an offseason. He’s had a hell of a training camp, and I believe that’s going to lead to a hell of a year.”

Should McCaffrey miss any time, the 49ers will roll with Brian Robinson and Isaac Guerendo out of the backfield. The former was acquired from the Washington Commanders last month.