49ers running back Christian McCaffrey went to IR with injured right knee
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — San Francisco 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey will not need surgery on his injured right knee, but he will miss the remainder of the regular season.
Coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday that McCaffrey will be out at least six weeks. after injuring the posterior cruciate ligament in a defeat against the Buffalo Bills Sunday Night. McCaffrey will be placed on injured reserve for the second time this season after missing the first eight games with Achilles tendinitis.
“I just feel for him,” Shanahan said. “It was a really frustrating year for him. He’s worked really hard to get back to this point and I think he was feeling really good and about to take off and he just got hurt really and unfortunately last night. I know he’s as crushed as anyone, but he’ll get through this. He’s a hell of a player, a hell of a person and an incredible 49er. He will come back stronger than ever next year to help us.
San Francisco (5-7) sits in last place in the NFC West standings, two wins behind division-leading Seattle, and is in danger of missing the playoffs a year after losing to Kansas City in the Super Bowl.
The 49ers also lost McCaffrey’s backup to injury, with Jordan Mason also set to go on injured reserve after suffering a sprained ankle in the game against the Bills.
It’s been a frustrating season for McCaffrey, who won the 2023 AP Offensive Player of the Year and then signed a lucrative contract extension in the offseason.
McCaffrey injured his Achilles tendon early in training camp and missed the first eight games of the season. He totaled just 149 yards on 43 carries in his first three games as he struggled to find his form.
He looked much better early Sunday night with seven carries for 53 yards, including a 19-yarder that was his longest of the season. He appeared to injure his knee on an 18-yard run in the second quarter. He then went down immediately on his next move by sweeping to the left on a snowy field for a loss of 5 yards.
Mason had played well as McCaffrey’s backup, throwing for 789 yards and averaging 5.2 yards per carry this season.
San Francisco will now turn to rookie Isaac Guerendo and promote Patrick Taylor from the practice squad. Shanahan said the team will also look to add another running back to the mix.
In other injury news from the game, defensive lineman Kevin Givens tore a pectoral muscle and will be out for the remainder of the season.
Shanahan said cornerback Deommodore Lenoir should be back in practice Wednesday after missing the game with a knee injury and that stars Nick Bosa (hip, oblique) and Trent Williams (ankle) will be evaluated throughout the week.
Both Bosa and Williams have missed the last two games. Williams also faced family tragedy as his wife announced on Instagram that she gave birth to Trenton O’Brien Williams Jr., stillborn, on November 24. Sondra Williams also wrote that she was initially pregnant with twins and lost the other child earlier in the pregnancy.
Shanahan said Williams spent time with his family last week but was trying to get back to playing.
“He was at the hospital with her and was able to meet him and say goodbye,” Shanahan said. “Then he had to cremate her on Friday. So he faced that and he’s working on it. We’re all trying to be there for him through it all.
NOTES: OL Aaron Banks and DT Jordan Elliott remain in concussion protocol. … LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (knee) is day-to-day. … LB Dre Greenlaw will have more work this week after his practice window opened last week for the first time since tearing his Achilles tendon in the Super Bowl. … S Talanoa Hufanga (wrist) will have his IR practice window open this week.
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