Still No Timeline For 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey’s Return

When appearing on KNBR Friday morning, 49ers GM John Lynch said there is still no timeline for RB Christian McCaffrey‘s return. 

“No new updates other than he’s doing incredibly well,” Lynch said, via 49ersWebZone. “It’s all about the ramp up, increasing the activity, making sure that there’s no setbacks. I could just tell people he’s on a good track with that. No timelines or anything, but he’s doing a little bit more—not each day. We kind of stagger it, work hard one day, kind of go into more of a [regeneration] day the next day. But when you can start to stack those and not have setbacks, that’s a good thing, and that’s kind of the direction he’s trending in.”

Prior reports mentioned that McCaffrey is dealing with bilateral Achilles tendinitis, but the current issue is concentrated on just one of his legs. McCaffrey is focused on doing what he can to avoid setbacks as he works his way back to game shape. 

Adam Schefter recently reported that McCaffrey could return for the 49ers’ Week 7 game against the Chiefs, but it’s now evident he will not play.  However, there’s still a chance he could wait another week and return for their matchup with the Cowboys or even wait until after the team’s bye. 

There still seems to be some encouragement with McCaffrey’s ability to practice, but San Francisco is still managing his workload during the week. 

McCaffrey, 27, is a former first-round pick of the Panthers back in 2017. He was entering the final year of his four-year, $17.224 million contract when the Panthers signed him to a new four-year, $64 million contract extension that also included his expected fifth-year option.

Carolina opted to restructure McCaffrey’s deal before trading him to the 49ers in exchange for a 2023 second, third, and fourth-round pick, as well as a fifth-round pick in 2024.

He was due base salaries of $11.8 million and $12 million over the final two years of the deal before signing a new extension in 2024.

In 2023, McCaffrey appeared in 16 games for the 49ers and rushed for 1,459 yards on 272 carries (5.4 YPC) to go along with 67 receptions for 564 yards receiving and 21 total touchdowns.