This is fishy.
On Saturday, the 49ers quietly added Christian McCaffrey to their injury report with a back injury. No explanation. No press conference. No nothing. Just an email with one sentence stating that McCaffrey is questionable for Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans.
For what it’s worth, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the 49ers expect McCaffrey to be “good to go” for the 49ers’ upcoming game. Still, back injuries can be unpredictable and can linger.
After Sunday’s game, head coach Kyle Shanahan will shed some light on McCaffrey’s injury. Until then, here’s what we know.
McCaffrey left Thursday’s practice early with what the 49ers called an illness. Thursday is the 49ers’ longest, most grueling practice of the week — it’s the only day in which the players wear pads. McCaffrey injured his calf during a Thursday practice before the season opener against the Seahawks, but he still played in that game.
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On Friday, McCaffrey participated in the 49ers’ walkthrough. Then, Kyle Shanahan was 45 minutes late to his press conference, which was weird. Finally, he appeared and said that McCaffrey is a full-go for Sunday. When asked if McCaffrey has a bug, Shanahan said, “I didn’t really ask him more about it. I know he wasn’t feeling well, but he looked good today.”
Extremely vague answer. It’s possible McCaffrey wasn’t feeling well because of his back or because of his illness or because of both. We don’t know.
Here’s what we do know — the 49ers have had at least eight injuries during Thursday practices this season. They need to modify their practice schedule to keep players healthy. Football is violent enough. Players shouldn’t be going down weekly during practices with no tackling.
And there’s one more thing. McCaffrey absolutely should not play this Sunday against the Titans, although he almost certainly will. It’s not worth the risk of potentially making his back injury worse. Not against the Titans, who are going to lose. The 49ers easily can beat them without McCaffrey. They’re horrendous.
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This is a great opportunity to give McCaffrey a second consecutive week off so he’s as fresh and healthy as possible for the playoffs. The 49ers should protect him from himself. You know he’s going to push to play because he’s a warrior, and he doesn’t want to be seen as injury-prone after missing most of last season with bilateral Achilles tendonitis and a PCL tear.
This is where Kyle Shanahan needs to be a leader. Make the decision for McCaffrey. Sit him against the Titans, and give Brian Robinson Jr., Isaac Guerendo and rookie Jordan James a chance to show what they can do.
Who knows, the 49ers might need them during the playoffs if McCaffrey’s back flares up. He’s not exactly young.
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