The San Francisco 49ers offense is expected to finally regain its most dangerous weapon Sunday, as star running back Christian McCaffrey will likely make his season debut against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, coach Kyle Shanahan said Thursday in an interview with KNBR.
“He’s been awesome these last two days,” Shanahan told the station. “Hopefully that continues to go well. I expect to get him out there.”
McCaffrey, who has been plagued by Achilles tendonitis since training cramp, finally returned to practice last week. The reigning Offensive Player of the Year was in the team’s initial plans for the season opener, but a tendinitis flare-up held him out before the team put him on injured reserve.
During his stint on IR, McCaffrey traveled to Germany, presumably to look into therapies that aren’t available stateside, though he hasn’t explicitly revealed why he went abroad.
Even without McCaffrey — or star receiver Brandon Aiyuk in recent weeks after his season-ending injury — the Niners have gone 4-4 and rank second in the league in offensive yards and sixth in points scored.
But despite McCaffrey’s likely return, the 49ers backfield may not be at full strength. Jordan Mason, who has taken McCaffrey’s mantle as San Francisco’s leading rusher this season, has been limited in practice this week due to ongoing shoulder issues. Mason suffered a shoulder sprain in Week 6 and re-aggravated it against the Dallas Cowboys last week.
If Mason is diminished on Sunday, it could mean McCaffrey will see a significant workload in his first game back.
As the Niners lead back, Mason has totaled 685 yards this season, the fourth-most in the league. In his place, rookie Isaac Guerendo could get extra run if Shanahan aims to ease McCaffrey back in versus the Bucs. With Mason slowed by the shoulder injury, Guerendo tallied a career-high 14 carries for 85 yards and his first career touchdown against the Cowboys.