Christian McCaffrey, the NFL’s leading rusher, says his calf issue is minimal as he and the top-seeded San Francisco 49ers prepare for the NFC playoffs.
LANDOVER, MARYLAND — Christian McCaffrey said his playoff participation will not be jeopardized by a right calf strain suffered late in the third quarter of the 49ers’ 27-10 victory over the Washington Commanders on Sunday.
I have no idea what happened. “It was nothing major,” McCaffrey remarked. “I was just having a hard time for a little bit just pushing off, and for precautionary reasons, they said, ‘You’d be better to just rest it.'”McCaffrey will almost certainly miss the regular-season finale against the Los Angeles Rams and then use the wild-card bye week to rest.
“He was moving around alright on the sideline, so we’re hoping it’s not too bad, but we won’t know until (Monday),” coach Kyle Shanahan said of a likely MRI exam for McCaffrey.
Sunday, McCaffrey came out in the third quarter, after first using a therapeutic massage gun on his left leg, then exiting that same drive with a right calf issue. He initially sought to return, but running backs coach Bobby Turner kept him on the sideline as Elijah Mitchell scored on a 2-yard run for a 20-10 lead.
“We just made the smart move,” said McCaffrey, who totaled 64 rushing yards (14 carries) and 27 receiving yards (four catches). “Especially not knowing what would happen next week, I didn’t want to go in there and make it any worse.“With certain things, you can’t be dumb about it,” he said.
When McCaffrey and the 49ers entered their locker room, they were surprised yet thrilled to watch the Arizona Cardinals upset the Philadelphia Eagles, whose loss thus took them out of contention for the No. 1 seed.
“That means the world, so shout out to the Cardinals, man, appreciate you guys. That was huge,” McCaffrey said. “We all need (rest). I know I need it. So I’m excited to just take a breath and get everything back to normal.”
The 49ers are the first team in NFL history with a quartet of 1,000-yard producers in the form of a running back (McCaffrey), two wide receivers (Brandon Aiyuk; 1,317 yards) Deebo Samuel; 1,085 yards) and a tight end (George Kittle; 1,022 yards).
After traveling to play five games in the Eastern time zone this season, McCaffrey is relieved to avoid any more long flights, adding: “It’s not nothing. It’s definitely not nothing.”
Mitchell filled in admirably, rushing for 80 yards and his first touchdown since last season’s playoff opener.
“That’s exactly what I expect from Elijah,” fullback Kyle Juszczyk said. “I had two solid years with my guy being the lead back. In my opinion, he’s one of the best backs in the league. It just so happens he has an MVP in front of him.”
