Report: Christian McCaffrey might be out until Halloween with his Achilles injury

NFL Network’s Ian Rapport reported the timetable for the San Francisco 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey and some of the pain that he’s dealing with:

“My understand, Christian McCaffrey is dealing with painful Achillies tendinitis. Described to me as frustrating and difficult. Difficult to run and certainly difficult to get rid of. He’s not at more of a risk of tearing his Achilles, but from my understanding, he’s likely to be out six weeks or potentially more. Which means [Jordan] Mason, the preseason MVP of the 49ers, is going to get a ton of touches.”

McCaffrey was placed on the Injured Reserve on Saturday and will miss at least the next four games. That opens the door for Mason, who passed his first test last Monday night after running for over 145 yards, broke more tackles in one game than he had in each of the previous two seasons, and had more yards after contact than the 49ers allowed on the ground to the New York Jets.

Mason will face a stiff test today against defensive coordinator Brian Flores, who figures to put Mason under the microscope in pass protection. Mason may have a bigger roles as a receiver this week or on passing downs in general, especially if Flores blitzes Brock Purdy more than 60 percent of the time, as he did last year.

As for McCaffrey, looking at the 49ers schedule, they have the Vikings today, then the Rams, Patriots, Cardinals, Seahawks, and Chiefs. Those are the next six games, followed by a primetime matchup at home against the Dallas Cowboys, which could loom large for seeding purposes in the NFC playoffs.

More importantly, the bye week is after the Dallas game, which gives McCaffrey’s body time to recover after all that time off. That might be the date the team has circled for McCaffrey’s return.