San Francisco 49ers All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey remains on track to make his season debut against the host Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. That's welcome news for the 49ers, who have managed a 4-4 record in his absence and come off a bye still as serious contenders to recapture the NFC West and vie for another Super Bowl appearance. McCaffrey played just 10 combined games with Carolina in 2020 and 2021 but had been remarkably healthy since joining San Francisco in 2022, sitting out just one inconsequential game with a calf injury last season.
However, he has missed all of this season with calf and Achilles injuries and was placed on injured reserve on Sept. 14. McCaffrey traveled to Germany to visit a specialist on Sept.
22 for what was eventually diagnosed as bilateral Achilles tendinitis. With his injury under control, McCaffrey began practicing on Monday, but the team has three weeks to activate him to the 53-man roster. That could come much sooner.
It's unclear how much of the game plan would include the 2023 NFL Offensive Player of the Year on Sunday. Coach Kyle Shanahan said McCaffrey experienced no pain after the Monday practice before working in a limited capacity on Wednesday. The running back would have to, the coach said, "string together three days in a row and not have any (setbacks) to be cleared to play.
" Shanahan expounded that he needed to see "that he's just Christian McCaffrey and he's not hurting." A decision on whether McCaffrey will play mig.