SANTA CLARA — The 49ers are set to have Christian McCaffrey back in the fold on Sunday after the All-Pro running back sat out of practice on both Wednesday and Thursday.

McCaffrey was back on the field for the shorter Friday session, needing a little more rest after a heavy workload on “Monday Night Football,” coach Kyle Shanahan explained on Friday afternoon. 

San Francisco will head east into the cold and stormy weather with three players ruled out: LB Tatum Bethune (ankle), DL Sam Okuayinonu (ankle) and K Eddy Piñeiro (hamstring).

Curtis Robinson will get his second start at the MIKE linebacker position in place of Bethune, who could make his return from a high ankle sprain after the bye week. The team added Eric Kendricks to the practice squad, but there is no indication if the linebacker will be active for Sunday’s contest as of yet.

The 49ers had an agreement in place to bring Kendricks to the Bay Area in 2024, but the linebacker changed his mind and ended up signing with the Dallas Cowboys on a one-year deal. The head coach shared that there are no hard feelings, understanding the linebacker’s reasoning at the time. 

“We’ve been talking with him throughout the year,” Shanahan said of Kendricks. “I know he had other options throughout the year, but the timing was right for him, and we’ve been wanting him on board, so we were pumped that he wanted to come.”

The defensive line will be without Sam Okuayinonu, who suffered a high ankle sprain on Monday night. Robert Beal has cleared the concussion protocol and could see more time, along with Clelin Ferrell, who recorded the only quarterback sack of Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young. 

The remainder of the defensive line, including Bryce Huff, will be in pursuit of Shedeur Sanders, who will get his second NFL start on Sunday. 

With frigid temperatures and lake effect snow throughout the week, Shanahan has been mentally preparing his players for their trip to the northeast, similar to what the 49ers saw the last time they visited in 2023. 

“The rain wasn’t great then and it will probably be worse now, so we got to be prepared for it,” Shanahan said. “It’s like that this time of the year. Hopefully, we will get lucky with the weather, but we are assuming the worst.”

If the weather is indeed as forecasted, with an 85 percent chance of snow or freezing rain, the 49ers offense will have an even tougher task facing All-Pro pass rusher Myles Garrett and a very effective Jim Schwartz defense. 

“Last time we went, they had a really good defense and this time they have a really good defense, if not better,” Shanahan said.

Browns injury report:

Out

TE Brenden Bates (ankle) 

DT Aidan Huntington (quadricep) 

DE Alex Wright (quadricep)

Questionable

RB Jerome Ford (hamstring) 

49ers injury report:

Out

LB Tatum Bethune (ankle)

DL Sam Okuayinonu (ankle)

K Eddy Piñeiro (hamstring)

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