The San Francisco 49ers already have a major injury concern with star running back Christian McCaffrey ahead of the Week 1 game against the Seattle Seahawks.
McCaffrey popped up on the injury report on Thursday with a calf issue and was listed as limited in practice. The exact injury is of particular concern because McCaffrey dealt with calf issues in 2024 and was limited to just four games.
With the concern growing around the veteran running back, all eyes were on the 49ers' practice and injury report on Friday.
After practice, head coach Kyle Shanahan provided an update on McCaffrey, and it wasn't a good one.
Christian McCaffrey injury update
UPDATE: After practice, McCaffrey revealed that he feels "great" and plans to play in Week 1.
"Nothing serious," McCaffrey said. "I feel great about where I'm at. Unfortunately, when you have the injury history that I have, sometimes when you don't practice things get blown out of proportion."
END OF UPDATE
According to Shanahan, McCaffrey did not practice on Friday and is considered questionable for Week 1.
Earlier in the day, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported that there doesn't seem to be a major concern about McCaffrey's injury and it appears San Francisco is just being cautious with their star player.
"I do not get the sense based on the conversations I've had so far that there are alarm bells going off about Christian McCaffrey at this point," Pelissero said.
"If there is any player you are going to take precautions with if he feels something in practice, it's the guy who's arguably you best player and missed most of last season because of a variety of different elements," Pelissero added.
"We also know that calf injuries can be tricky," he explained further. "At times they are precursors to Achilles injuries. McCaffrey had issues with both his Achilles last year. Again, I do not get the sense that this is DEFCON 1."
Considering McCaffrey's injury history and the fact that it's just Week 1, chances are the 49ers are going to sit him to play it safe.
If that happens, Brian Robinson Jr., who was acquired in a trade with the Washington Commanders in August, will be San Fran's lead back.
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