'49ers Running Back Christian McCaffrey Declared Ineligible, Possibly Bound for Injured Reserve'

The San Francisco 49ers' star running back, Christian McCaffrey, will not be playing in Sunday's game against the Minnesota Vikings and may be placed on the injured reserve list.

McCaffrey is currently dealing with injuries to his Achilles and calf, which caused him to be unable to play in Monday's season opener against the New York Jets. Unfortunately, his injury has not improved this week and head coach Kyle Shanahan stated that Thursday was McCaffrey's "worst day" dealing with the injury.

Shanahan told reporters on Friday, "We are now considering placing him on injured reserve. Yesterday was his worst day. The pain comes and goes, but with yesterday being his worst day, it's something we will be discussing in the next 24 hours."

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McCaffrey was able to participate in limited practice on Wednesday and Thursday, but sat out of Friday's workout.

If McCaffrey is placed on the injured reserve list, he will have to miss four games before he can return. If this decision is made before the Minnesota game, he would be eligible to return on October 10th against the Seattle Seahawks.

In the 91 games (84 starts) that McCaffrey has played for the Carolina Panthers (2017-2022) and 49ers, he has been selected to the Pro Bowl three times and led the NFL in rushing yards with 1,459 last season. He also has four 1,000-yard rushing seasons and two 100-catch campaigns.

In McCaffrey's absence, undrafted free agent Jordan Mason will once again be the main ball carrier for the 49ers against the Vikings. He had a career game in the last game, rushing for 147 yards on 28 carries against the Jets.

San Francisco has also listed safety Talanoa Hufanga (knee) as doubtful and linebacker Dee Winters (ankle) as questionable for Sunday's game.