San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey missed the first eight games of the 2024 season with bilateral Achilles tendinitis.
Now, it looks like McCaffrey’s 2024 campaign could be over altogether.
McCaffrey departed the 49ers’ eventual 35-10 loss at the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night early in the second quarter. The 5-foot-11, 210 pound running back took a pitch from quarterback Brock Purdy but came up lame on the snap.
McCaffrey slid down to the Highmark Stadium playing surface with a non-contact injury.
The 49ers initially listed McCaffrey as questionable before downgrading the star running back to out with a knee injury.
Afterwards, San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters that McCaffrey is feared to have suffered a potentially season-ending PCL injury.
Kyle Shanahan said Christian McCaffrey suffered a potentially season-ending PCL injury.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 2, 2024
“Yeah, it was frustrating. You know, he had a great week of practice and I could feel his urgency and stuff. I thought he came out great, looking real good and it looked like he just got his shoestring there. He was about to break a house call. I’m guessing he got hurt on that play. I don’t know. I never got to talk to him, but hurt for him and tough for our team not having him,” Shanahan said.
McCaffrey exited Sunday night’s loss with 53 rushing yards on seven carries and a pair of receptions for 14 yards.
On the season, McCaffrey has rushed 50 times for 202 rushing yards and caught 15 passes for 146 yards in four games.
This comes on the heels of McCaffrey’s NFL Offensive Player of the Year season with the 49ers a season ago. In his first full season in San Francisco during 2023, McCaffrey racked up 1,459 rushing yards, 564 receiving yards and 21 total touchdowns.
