Why isn’t Christian McCaffrey playing for the 49ers against the Dolphins in week 16?
The running back remains out on injured reserve with San Francisco’s postseason dream fading.
Compared to last season, the 2024 campaign has been a huge disappointment for the San Francisco 49ers. Just 10 months ago, the Niners were facing the Chiefs at Super Bowl LVIII but now Kyle Shanahan’s team are 6-8, occupying last place in the NFC West and practically without options of making the playoffs.
And to make matters worse, they have been without Christian McCaffrey, the 2023 NFL Offensive Player of the Year, and and their top receiver Brandon Aiyuk for much of the campaign.
Which 49ers games will McCaffrey miss?
A calf strain kept the 28-year-old sidelined throughout the whole preseason and he missed the first eight games of the season due to bilateral Achilles tendinitis. He returned in Week 10 for the matchup against the Bucs but lasted another three games before being placed on injury reserve.
McCaffrey suffered a posterior cruciate ligament injury in Week 13 against the Buffalo Bills which will keep him out of action for six weeks. That means the former Carolina Panthers star won’t play again during the regular season.
He will miss games against the Miami Dolphins (December 22), Detroit Lions (30) and Arizona Cardinals (early January, date TBC), although given how things sit, there looks to be a real chance we don’t see him again until the 2025 season.
Elsewhere, defensive lineman Nick Bosa (hip/oblique) and linebacker Dre Greenlaw (Achilles) are both questionable heading into the Dolphins game. Trent Williams (ankle) and Isaac Guerendo (foot) are both ruled out.
The 49ers' chances of making it to the postseason
Should the six-week layoff prove to be correct, McCaffrey would be fit to return to action sometime around January 13, the day the wild-card playoff round is due to finish. However, the chances of the 49ers being involved have faded substantially.
Three defeats in a row left the Californians bottom of NFC West with a 6-8 record, the 11th best in the conference. The Rams and the Seahawks top the division both on 8-6, and the Niners could mathematically still sneak into the playoffs without winning the division, although that doesn’t look to be particularly realistic at this stage of the game.