49ers news: Christian McCaffrey says his injury is ‘Not a concern’ for him

The San Francisco 49ers have had an unusual amount of pre-Week 1 drama this preseason. With the Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams’ contract disputes dominating coverage, the usual slate of early-season injuries has been receiving far less attention. However, Niners superstar running back Christian McCaffrey has been dealing with a calf/Achilles injury.

While McCaffrey was limited in practice on Thursday and Friday, according to the 49ers injury report, the Stanford product was adamant that he expects to play on Monday against the New York Jets. When asked if he was worried about getting held back by his injury by reporters, McCaffrey responded, “No, not a concern for me.”

The 49ers are currently heavy favorites (-215) over the Jets (+180) to win the game at the FanDuel Sportsbook. Needless to say, it’s a lot easier to be confident in San Francisco’s chances to deliver on their heavy-favorite status with McCaffrey on the field.

The line has bounced back and forth between the Niners being favored by 3.5 and 4.5, likely due to the uncertainty of what will happen at left tackle or how involved Aiyuk will be, not to mention McCaffrey’s status.

The dynamic running back is coming off an incredible 2023 campaign. Last season, he led the NFL with 339 total touches and 1,459 rushing yards. He also racked up 564 receiving yards and scored 21 total touchdowns.

With McCaffrey sidelined or even limited, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan would likely lean on backup Jordan Mason for carries. While Mason has been quite productive on the ground throughout his career, McCaffrey’s unique ability as a receiver gives quarterback Brock Purdy a valuable outlet and helps Shanahan create openings for other wideouts in the passing game.