The San Francisco 49ers are optimistic about having running back Christian McCaffrey back at practice on Monday, which could pave the way for his return in the November 10 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers—assuming this week's ramp-up goes as planned.
General manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan have shared their optimism regarding McCaffrey's progress. The running back has missed the entire season due to Achilles tendinitis.
"Taylor Wirth), Lynch detailed the week's plan: "We'll simulate a game week in terms of volume as much as possible, and provided there's no setbacks, we're hoping to have him back on Monday in practice. And that's just opening his window. Does that mean playing vs. Tampa? No. We'll see where that goes."
Simulating a game week likely included three intense workout sessions, with the heaviest workload on Thursday, to assess how McCaffrey's body responds.
"And like I said, you need to build volume up, because you don't just need to run without pain, you've got to be able to handle the rigors," Lynch explained. "And that's the hard thing, on IR you can't go have somebody simulate [Buccanneers defensive tackle] Vita Vea tackling you ... so you try and simulate it as much as you can and you hope there's no setbacks. The good news is, to this point, there haven't been any."