Christian McCaffrey left no room for doubt when asked about his status for Monday night's matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and the New York Jets: the star running back expects to play.
McCaffrey has been limited in practice for the past two days, with the 49ers holding their third and final—and typically lighter—practice on Saturday afternoon. Calf and Achilles issues sidelined him for much of training camp and the entire preseason. However, when asked if there was any doubt in his mind about his Week 1 availability, McCaffrey simply replied, "Nope."
Coming off a stellar 2023 season in which he earned NFL Offensive Player of the Year honors with a league-leading 2,023 scrimmage yards and 21 total touchdowns, McCaffrey has high expectations for 2024. Still, he remains focused on the present.
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"I think it's just taking it one play at a time," McCaffrey said about his mindset for the upcoming season. "I don't like to look at what's ahead. Each play has a life of its own, and just do what you have to do on each play, take care of the things that you can control, and then go from there and see what happens."
Tight end George Kittle, McCaffrey's teammate and one of his biggest fans, was also asked about the expectations for the star playmaker this season.
"Whatever his expectations are for himself, which I know are very high," Kittle responded. "He has an incredibly high standard for himself. He takes this incredibly seriously. Every time [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan] talks about him, he gives him his flowers about how hard he works, how meticulous he is, how hard he is on himself 24/7. And so, I believe that Christian's going to have another great year."
Kittle mentioned an anonymous MVP poll circulating among players. While Kittle wanted to vote for McCaffrey, the rules prohibited teammates from voting for each other. Still, he added, "But Christian is going to have another fantastic football season."
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Though McCaffrey's Achilles injury was only recently reported, it stems from the same issue that kept him out earlier. The added specificity is due to the NFL's stricter injury report requirements now that the regular season is underway.
When asked if he had any concerns about his Achilles, McCaffrey quickly replied, "Not a concern for me, no."
What does McCaffrey expect for Monday night's game against the Jets? Does he anticipate handling his usual heavy workload? Last season, McCaffrey played 81 percent of the 49ers' offensive snaps, exceeding 85 percent in nine games.
"I hope so," McCaffrey said.
While Shanahan expressed confidence that McCaffrey will play, he was less certain when asked if the running back would return to his usual form after missing so much time.
"We'll see," Shanahan said Friday during a radio interview. "Anytime someone's been out for a while, you always got to be careful with him, and we're evaluating each practice. ... Christian's been through this stuff before, and I know he'll be out there on Monday, and we'll see how that game goes."