McCaffrey is likely to play Sunday despite only practicing in full once this week. Kelley L Cox / Imagn Images
The San Francisco 49ers on Saturday added Christian McCaffrey to their injury report with a back issue. Yet, a league source said the issue didn’t seem like anything that would keep the running back out of Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans.
It’s been an odd week for McCaffrey. He had his usual “veteran” day off Wednesday, then missed most of Thursday’s session due to an illness. He practiced in full on Friday, with Kyle Shanahan saying McCaffrey would be a full-go for the game. Then on Saturday, McCaffrey reported having a minor issue with his back. The team usually holds a walk-through practice on Saturdays.
If his back were to worsen and he couldn’t play, Brian Robinson Jr. would get his first start of the season, backup Isaac Guerendo likely would see his first carries of 2025 and fourth-round draft pick Jordan James would be activated for the first time.
Their lack of usage speaks to McCaffrey’s health in 2025. He popped up on the injury report in Week 1 with a calf strain, but ended up starting that game and every one since. He leads the league in touches (322) and is third behind the Atlanta Falcons’ Bijan Robinson and the Indianapolis Colts’ Jonathan Taylor in scrimmage yards.
He’s also on pace to become the first player to have two seasons of 1,000-plus rushing and 1,000-plus receiving yards, having first accomplished the feat in 2019 when he was with the Carolina Panthers. At his current pace, he’d finish with 1,110 rushing yards and 1,054 receiving yards.
While the 49ers have been healthy at running back, the linebacker position has grown thin. The team will be without Fred Warner (ankle), Tatum Bethune (high ankle) and Eric Kendricks (calf) against the Titans. The 49ers elevated linebacker Jalen Graham and defensive tackle Sebastian Valdez from the practice squad.