49ers news: What should the team do with star RB Christian McCaffrey?

The San Francisco 49ers had a dilemma in Week 1, as star running back Christian McCaffrey was a late scratch due to injury, prompting backup Jordan Mason to earn his first career start.

The 49ers were able to swiftly beat the New York Jets 31-19 in the opener, but head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed that McCaffrey’s injury was more related to Achilles tendonitis, raising concerns for his outlook this season.

McCaffrey has been one of the most consistent players since joining the 49ers, playing in almost every game, even when facing nagging injuries, so it was more of a surprise that he missed Week 1.

With his injury status, what should the 49ers do with McCaffrey as they prepare for their Week 2 opponent against the Minnesota Vikings?

Despite the injury news, McCaffrey remains confident that he’s ready to go, which was his mentality even heading into Week 1 before the team ruled him out before the game.

“I prepare every week to play,” McCaffrey said. “My mindset every week is I’m going to play. There’s been weeks where I’ll go the full week, not even feeling good enough to do the walkthrough, and then I wake up, and the body’s capable of a lot of cool things. Mentally, I’m always prepared to play, and then woke up (on Monday), and it was a group decision, a very tough one. I hate not playing, but I look at it as a chess move, something that, hopefully, we can benefit from the rest of the season.”

“My mentality is I’m playing this week. That’s where I’m at. That’s how I am every week. I’m not lying. I think as soon as a player says, ‘Maybe I’ll play, maybe I won’t,’ that’s not a good mentality to go into a week with when you’re kind of on the fence. So, for me, I’m ready to go.”

McCaffrey, who was limited in practice all week last week, has gotten the same diagnosis to begin this week, with his status for Week 2 up in the air. Meanwhile, several national reporters have expressed doubt that the star back will be available this week.

Injured Reserve will not be a consideration, according to head coach Kyle Shanahan, which likely means that McCaffrey should be ready by Week 4 at the latest (which is when I currently expect him to make his debut).

But, would the 49ers be smarter just shutting him down, knowing that tendinitis can be a major lingering concern?

I think that option has to, at least, be in consideration, even though McCaffrey surely wants to play. San Francisco proved capable of weathering the storm at a high level with Mason leading the charge in Week 1 in a blowout win.

Now, the former provides something unique to running backs for Kyle Shanahan, which is why the 49ers have been as successful as they’ve been. But, looking at the upcoming schedule, the team plays at Minnesota, at Los Angeles, vs. New England, and vs. Arizona.

That should be fairly winnable without McCaffrey, and the 49ers will need the healthiest version of their star for the stretch run and the playoffs. Now, with him not going on Injured Reserve, McCaffrey likely returns sooner than later, like I said. The question is: is that the smartest option for San Francisco?