The San Francisco 49ers are going to need their star players healthy if they want to make it back to the Super Bowl this season. However, they were unable to start the season that way as running back Christian McCaffrey missed the opening game of the 2024 season with Achilles tendinitis. The San Francisco 49ers made the decision to place All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve.
The hope is that he will be able to return after four more games when he is eligible, but the team will re-assess the situation in a month. The Madden curse seemingly has struck again as he is the cover athlete for this year’s game. This is the first time that McCaffrey has been injured since joining the San Francisco 49ers.
Last season, he finished with 272 carries for 1,459 yards (5.4 yards per attempt) with 14 rushing touchdowns as well as 67 receptions for 564 yards (8.4 yards) with seven receiving touchdowns. It will be interesting to see how the 49ers offense looks without arguably its most important weapon for the beginning of the season.
Below are the four games that Christian McCaffrey will miss for certain:
- Week 2: at Minnesota Vikings
- Week 3: at Los Angeles Rams
- Week 4: vs. New England Patriots
- Week 5: vs. Arizona Cardinals
What will the San Francisco 49ers do at the running back position without Christian McCaffrey?
The San Francisco 49ers are going to be without a star running back but seemingly have one in the making in the meantime. When it was announced that the team was not able to have McCaffrey available, third-year running back Jordan Mason got the start and excelled.
In the Week 1 game against the New York Jets, Mason finished with 28 carries for 147 yards (5.3 yards per attempt) with a rushing touchdown as well as a five-yard catch. He is not up to the caliber of Christian McCaffrey but has shown the ability to dominate and make a name for himself.
About the Author
Vincent Pensabene graduated from Saint Leo University in 2019 with a B.A. in Sport Business and has focused on the media side of sports. He writes for multiple publications and is interested in the reasoning of why things happen. Feel free to follow him on social media @TalkVinTalk and discuss all things sports.
