Christian McCaffrey injury update: San Francisco 49ers RB ruled out vs. Vikings

Christian McCaffrey has been ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan announced. It will mark his second straight absence with calf and Achilles injuries, and the franchise is considering placing him on injured reserve.

McCaffrey missed last week’s opener against the New York Jets due to his injuries, and his status was closely monitored throughout this week. He was limited in practice Wednesday and Thursday, but did not participate on Friday and is unable to go Sunday against Minnesota.

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If McCaffrey has to go on IR, he would miss the Vikings game and the next three weeks at minimum. Shanahan said Thursday was the day the former Stanford star had the most pain, which sparked the conversations.

“It’s something we’re considering now,” Shanahan told reporters. “Yesterday was his worst day. It’s on and off, but with yesterday having the most pain, it’s something we’re gonna be discussing here in the next 24 hours.”

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McCaffrey’s absence would open the door for Jordan Mason to get some run as the starting running back after a huge season debut against the Jets in Week 1. He took 28 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown in the victory to lead the 49ers running game.

News of McCaffrey’s absence came down with the final injury report ahead of Monday Night Football against the Jets. It was a bit of a surprise, and he found out that morning he wouldn’t be able to go.

“On Monday morning, just moving around a little bit. I prepare every week to play. My mindset every week is I want to play,” McCaffrey said, per Sports Illustrated. “There have been weeks where I’ll go the full week not even feeling good enough to do the walk-through, and then I wake up and my body is capable of a lot of cool things. Mentally, I’m always prepared to play in the game. But it was a group decision, a very tough one. I hate not playing. I look at it as a chess move and something that hopefully we can benefit from the rest of the season.”

Christian McCaffrey is a key piece of the San Francisco offense as a top weapon in both the running game and the passing game for Brock Purdy. Last season, he ran for a career-high 1,459 yards and 14 touchdowns while adding 564 receiving yards and five touchdowns in the air.