Instead, CMC was ruled inactive after he reportedly didn’t feel right with his calf/Achilles injury. That led to some outrage, amplified by replacement Jordan Mason revealing he knew on Friday night that he’d get the start. With Mason balling out against the New York Jets, the Niners don’t really have a need to rush CMC until he’s fully healthy.
McCaffrey hasn’t been ruled out for Week 2 yet, but could the San Francisco 49ers hold him out for all of September? According to Albert Breer, appearing on the Rich Eisen Show, it’s a possibility.
I think, to some degree, this is Kyle Shanahan and the Niners protecting Christian from himself. And knowing, ‘we’ve got a long season ahead. Christian McCaffrey has a lot of injury history, he’s got a lot of miles on his legs… We’re gonna need him in January a hell of a lot more than we need him in September’.
Breer did concede that if the NFC Championship game were to be this Sunday, CMC would suit up. But he also says that this type of injury could linger and get progressively worse if he returns before he’s fully ready.
Breer’s guess is that “we’ll see him in Week 3“, but he isn’t completely sure of his prediction. The 49ers play the Los Angeles Rams that week, a game of importance due to it being a division game. The Rams are dealing with a ton of injuries already, though, and the Niners may not need the running back to beat them.
