Here We Go Again? McCaffrey Held Out Friday; Questionable For Sunday

For a second-straight year, Christian McCaffrey's status is up in the air in the days leading up the 49ers' Week 1 game.

Bob Harris's Here We Go Again? McCaffrey Held Out Friday; Questionable For Sunday Bob Harris Published 09/05/2025

© D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images Chrisitian McCaffrey

After making it through training camp and the preseason with no apparent health issues and not even appearing on Wednesday's injury report, 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey was added to the list Thursday night.

McCaffrey is now dealing with a calf issue that he sustained on Thursday, when he was a limited participant. 

McCaffrey was on the field and doing his usual warmup and individual drills during the roughly 20 minutes open to reporters at the start of the practice. But he was not in the locker room after it was over and did not do his usual Thursday media session. 

On Friday, McCaffrey was not with his teammates as they went through their pre-practice routine. 

Instead, he was working on a side field, and head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed later that McCaffrey did not practice and announced the star running back is questionable.

Shanahan declined to offer any forecast about McCaffrey's chances of playing this weekend and repeated that he's questionable in response to questions about his condition. Asked if McCaffrey would test the injury Saturday, Shanahan also declined to comment.

For the record, McCaffrey told The Athletic's Vic Tafur immediately after Friday's session that he "feels great" and plans to play. McCaffrey acknowledged his injury history plays a role in how he and the team approach issues like this.

The 49ers play the Seahawks in a late-afternoon contest on Sunday. 

Brian Robinson Jr. and Isaac Guerendo would be the next men up for the 49ers in the offensive backfield. Barring their presence on your roster, fantasy managers will need to have a fallback option available in that late-afternoon window, Sunday night, or in the Monday night game.

Bigger picture . . . Here we are, in a very familiar -- and uncomfortable -- spot. 

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