Nick Wagoner
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — After making it by means of coaching camp and the preseason with no obvious well being points and never even showing on Wednesday's damage report, working again Christian McCaffrey was added to the record Thursday evening.
Based on the 49ers, McCaffrey is coping with a calf challenge and was a restricted participant in Thursday's observe. McCaffrey was on the sector and doing his standard warmup and particular person drills in the course of the roughly 20 minutes open to reporters initially of the observe.
However McCaffrey was not within the locker room after it was over and didn't do his standard Thursday media session. The addition of McCaffrey to the damage report due to a calf challenge is especially notable given what occurred main as much as Week 1 of final season.
McCaffrey sat out most of 2024 coaching camp whereas coping with what the workforce initially termed a calf damage however later clarified to be bilateral Achilles tendinitis. Heading into final 12 months's season opener towards the New York Jets, McCaffrey was listed a restricted participant in observe in the course of the week after which listed as questionable for the sport.
Not solely did McCaffrey not play towards the Jets, however he then sat out the workforce's subsequent seven video games after touchdown on injured reserve earlier than a Week 2 assembly with the Minnesota Vikings. After a prolonged restoration that included a visit to Germany to see a specialist, McCaffrey lastly returned on Nov. 10 towards the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and appeared in 4 video games earlier than struggling a torn posterior cruciate ligament in his proper knee towards the Buffalo Payments in Week 13.
After sitting out the remainder of the season due to that knee damage, McCaffrey was again on the sector for all the workforce's offseason program after which all through this 12 months's coaching camp.
Just like what they did in 2023, the Niners restricted McCaffrey's workload throughout coaching camp, giving him an additional break day to start every stretch of three practices.
“Simply belief the plan,” McCaffrey stated July 27. “They've written up a very good plan. Simply belief it and do every little thing I can on daily basis to get higher.”
On Wednesday, coach Kyle Shanahan was requested if there was a second within the offseason when he realized McCaffrey was “all the way in which again.”
“I knew Christian was again simply as soon as he instructed me he was wholesome,” Shanahan stated. “It is not like we had been pondering he would not come again from it. You understand, you hope that stuff, the arthritis and every little thing, goes away. Which it normally does. He was telling us that early within the offseason, so I felt fairly good about it. Christian's not a liar. So, I did not assume he was. Then we noticed him early in OTAs, he seemed just like the man we have all the time recognized and he is continued that.”
Niners tight finish George Kittle, who has a locker subsequent to McCaffrey, was requested Thursday if he might sense how keen McCaffrey was to get again within the combine after enjoying solely 4 video games in 2024.
“He appears very excited,” Kittle stated. “He is been excited since OTAs. He is been excited for the reason that season ended. So sure, I am very, very a lot wanting ahead to with the ability to block for him and run routes subsequent to him once more.”
