The San Francisco 49ers are eager to increase Christian McCaffrey's workload to assess his recovery from Achilles tendinitis. On Thursday, head coach Kyle Shanahan mentioned that the team hopes to have a clearer picture of the star running back's status in the next couple of weeks.
"And now, we'll probably turn it up here in the next couple of weeks," Shanahan said. "I know he still has at least two more weeks before we could have an option to play him, and we'll start testing that out sooner than later."
General manager John Lynch, in his weekly interview with KNBR on Friday morning, shared more details about McCaffrey's status. McCaffrey recently traveled to Germany to consult a specialist regarding the Achilles tendinitis that has sidelined him this season.
"I think the bottom line, once we put him to injured reserve, I think that was to kind of force a discipline for everyone that, when you have tendinitis, that basically is inflammation, and it was flared up, bilateral Achilles tendinitis," Lynch said. "And so, we needed to quiet it down. So the plan was to give it the time to do that and then, at some point, in a thoughtful way, to ramp him back up.
"So what he does early and where he goes, he's got people who work on his body and have for a long time. We work in consult with him on that. And now, Christian's back here, and at some point, we'll get [him] back. We'll have to hit certain markers, and we'll try the ramp-up. And, God willing, the thing has quieted down, and we can build him back up in a really smart and thoughtful way."
Lynch emphasized McCaffrey's value to the team, saying, "Of course, we want him back. He's a game-changer for us. But we want him back healthy, and so we'll take the necessary time for that. How much it takes, I don't think anyone knows right now."
Based on his progress, the plan is to gradually ramp up McCaffrey's workload once he's eligible to practice ahead of Week 6's matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. The 49ers are optimistic that the Achilles tendinitis has quieted down enough to begin that process on schedule.
Ricky Pearsall progressing well
Lynch also provided an update on rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, who was shot in the chest during a robbery attempt in San Francisco on August 31. Pearsall has made significant strides in his recovery and is working toward his NFL debut.
Currently on the non-football injury (NFI) list, Pearsall will be eligible to begin practicing again after Sunday's game against the New England Patriots.
"All signs are indicating that he'll be okay to do that," Lynch said. "So, we'll see. We'll kind of judge him throughout this weekend. He'll have some more markers to hit, but getting him back in practice would be a big deal. And then you've got a couple of weeks to work with, where you can activate him or just leave him practicing. I think we can kind of assess that as it comes.
"But Ricky's doing really well. He's put in the work. He's very eager to get back out there, but it's our job to make sure he's ready when he gets back. But he'll be a great addition. We drafted him for a reason. We're really excited about possibly getting him back sometime in the near future, and he's trending in a really good direction."
The 49ers selected Pearsall out of Florida with the 31st overall pick in this year's draft.
You can listen to Lynch's entire interview below.