Running back Christian McCaffrey of the San Francisco 49ers will not be back after suffering an oblique injury during Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns.
After the team’s 19–17 loss to the Cleveland Browns, head coach Kyle Shanahan of San Francisco provided no update on McCaffrey’s condition.
The 27-year-old has occasionally experienced injury problems throughout his career.
He appeared in a combined 10 games during the 2020 and 2021 seasons due to various ailments, although he bounced back in 2022 and played all 17 for the Carolina Panthers and 49ers while tallying 1,139 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground to go with 85 catches for 741 yards and five touchdowns through the air.
When healthy, McCaffrey is one of the best running backs in the league because of his ability to impact the game in a number of ways.
McCaffrey’s injury was a second massive blow to the 49ers’ offense after Deebo Samuel was also ruled out with a shoulder injury. Fortunately for the 49ers, they still have a number of other weapons in George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk. They also have a starting-caliber option at running back in Elijah Mitchell, and he will likely see more opportunities if McCaffrey is sidelined.