The San Francisco 49ers on Monday dished out the best potential post-Bye week news.
Ahead of Monday’s bonus practice after their Bye, the 49ers will open running back Christian McCaffrey’s 21-day practice window in preparation for his return from IR per Matt Barrows of the Athletic. He’s been on the injured list since Week 2 with Achilles tendinitis. He missed most of training camp and was limited in practice all week leading up to the season opener. The team listed him as questionable for Week 1, but he ended up missing the game which put his long-term absence in motion.
McCaffrey won’t officially be activated off IR until Saturday at the earliest. The 49ers will have until Monday, Nov. 25 to activate him, or he’ll be placed back on IR for the rest of the season.
By opening his practice window the 49ers will be able to have McCaffrey on the field for Monday’s practice and all three sessions leading up to a Week 10 showdown with the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan before the Bye week said McCaffrey would ramp up his rehab during the week off with simulated practices. The practice window opening means those sessions went well. There’s a chance we may see the reigning Offensive Player of the Year back in uniform for Sunday’s game in Tampa Bay if things go well during the week.
Getting McCaffrey back will be a major boost for the 49ers’ offense. Without him they’ve relied more on downfield throws, they’ve lacked in yards-after-catch, and they’ve struggled to score touchdowns in the red zone. His return should help in all of those areas, even if he doesn’t hit the ground running with a full workload.
