If you ask Christian McCaffrey about his Week 2 status, he'll tell you he's ready to go. However, whether or not he plays remains unclear, as it will depend on the calf strain and Achilles tendinitis he's been dealing with.
Late last week, McCaffrey told reporters he expected to play on Monday night against the New York Jets, which made his last-minute inactive status surprising. Before Wednesday's practice, McCaffrey explained why he didn't suit up despite sounding confident just days earlier. He shared that he didn't realize he wouldn't play until Monday morning.
"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."
He also clarified that his current injury is unrelated to the one he sustained in Week 17 last season, saying, "It's just something I'm dealing with, that I'll get right."
As for Week 2, McCaffrey's mindset is the same—he's preparing to play against the Minnesota Vikings, though his status is still up in the air.
"My mindset is I'm gonna play no matter what I'm going through physically on Wednesday or Thursday in practice," McCaffrey said. "And on the game day, you've gotta make a decision. ... 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."
