Christian McCaffrey suffered what turned out to be a season-ending knee injury in the San Francisco 49ers’ Week 13 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
While the PCL sprain that resulted from an awkward landing on the hard turf in snowy Buffalo put McCaffrey on IR, he told reporters at the team’s locker cleanout day Monday that he would have been able to return for the postseason. ESPN’s Nick Wagoner reported McCaffrey is rehabbing at the team facility and is on track to be a full go when the offseason program kicks off.
This isn’t necessarily surprising news since McCaffrey’s injury was given a six-week recovery time. Wild card weekend would have been the sixth week. The good news is McCaffrey didn’t suffer any additional damage or setbacks.
Per Wagoner, McCaffrey also noted his Achilles tendinitis won’t be an issue next year.
McCaffrey says the Achilles issue has “100 percent” calmed down enough to where it won’t be an issue heading toward next season. https://t.co/v7xBVe0ZlF
— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) January 6, 2025
Given his injury issues in 2024, any ailment with the 2023 Offensive Player of the Year sends up red flags. He dealt with bilateral Achilles tendinitis that cost him the first eight games of the season. His knee injury cost him the final five contests.
McCaffrey wound up rushing for 202 yards on 50 carries and notching 146 receiving yards on 15 catches. The 49ers offense clearly struggled in his absence and they stumbled badly shortly after his return, so even if he’d stayed healthy through the end of the year it’s unlikely he would have had enough of an impact to turn their disastrous season around.
Getting a fully health McCaffrey would be a massive boost for the 49ers as they try to regain their status as a playoff team in the NFC. Any signs that he’s on track to be in the building for OTAs and a full go for training camp in late July are good for San Francisco.