Could 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey return in Week 10?

The case of Christian McCaffrey has been a curious one with the 49ers remaining tight-lipped about the severity of his injury and most importantly, how long it would take to recover from. That said, we do know that the star running back has problems in both Achilles tendons, so his potential return before the end of the year can only be seen as a positive outcome.

Christian McCaffrey could return in Week 10

On Thursday night, the San Francisco 49ers got the better of the Seattle Seahawks in a duel that ended 36-24 in the Niners’ favor. Unfortunately, the victory came with a cost and that was running back Jordan Mason’s shoulder injury which forced him out of the Week 6 contest. What that means is that the Niners are now paper thin in terms of cover for the position with Christian McCaffrey not expected to return for at least another month.

If you missed it, the reigning Offensive Player of the Year is currently battling Achilles tendinitis in both legs. Indeed, McCaffrey was theoretically supposed to play in Thursday’s game but as has been seen in recent reports about his condition, that was never likely though he’s already missed four games due to being placed on injured reserve. Regarding what’s been said, Ian Rapoport explained that “the target, in the eyes of McCaffrey and the 49ers,” is to get “him back to practice at some point in that window,” referring to a return that comes between Week 7 and Week 8, ahead of a Week 9 bye.

Now, where the 49ers (3-3) are concerned, the team will host the Kansas City Chiefs on October 20th, before playing another game at home against the Dallas Cowboys a week later. In an ideal world - according to Rapoport - McCaffrey will have been training for several weeks by the time the bye rolls around, meaning he should be able to take the field when the team faces the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on November 10th in Week 10. Of course, that is the assumption. To be clear, neither McCaffrey nor the Niners have indicated that they know exactly when he will be playing again which, understandably, is a significant blow.

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In 2023, McCaffrey led the NFL with a career-high 1,459 rushing yards but sadly, has failed to see a single snap in 2024. For a player who is now the NFL’s highest-paid running back, that’s sad, to say the least. As for his replacement who has now suffered an injury himself, Mason has given the Niners something to think about. With a league-leading 609 yards in six games, it’s clear that the 25-year-old is more than just a replacement. Sadly, that doesn’t matter now due to the aforementioned injury that he suffered on Thursday. At this point, the 49ers will have to look to Isaac Guerendo, who had a late 76-yard run against the Seahawks, and Patrick Taylor Jr. who did not feature.

See also: Week 6 NFL injury round-up