RELATED
General manager John Lynch expressed optimism that McCaffrey's recovery is progressing well, hinting he could make his 2024 season debut this weekend.
"I sure hope so," Lynch said when asked by Tim Kawakami on The TK Show if McCaffrey might be active on Sunday. "Christian's passed every part of the test in our plan. Over the bye week, he stayed here with our trainers. How do you come to work on the bye week? You come when you've got guys like him working out and you want to see it. I sat up in my office and watched from afar. He looks great. He's responded well."
McCaffrey's progress through four practices this week will be critical in determining his readiness to return after missing significant time.
"I will say that him doing IR work off to the side with our strength coaches and trainers is different than actually getting on the field," Lynch explained. "There's that reactive element to it. And so, now we've got to put him through that test, responding to a safety coming up and taking one side of leverage away, and he's got to make a cut, those types of things.
"And can he respond in a good way? Can he feel healthy enough? Can he feel like he can go make an impact and handle the volume that we've put on him? If so, we won't hesitate to play him. I think we've been real thoughtful. I'm proud of our health and performance team, proud of Christian, the way they've attacked this rehab. It's been a long time.
"It's been tough, when you have a player of that caliber, to not have him. I think it's provided opportunities for other players to show what they can do. But there's no doubt about it, you miss a Christian McCaffrey—your entire team, not just your offense—when he's not on the field."
You can listen to Lynch's entire interview below.
Related News
More San Francisco 49ers News
-
49ers add RB Christian McCaffrey to injury report, list him as questionable against Titans
The San Francisco 49ers added running back Christian McCaffrey to the injury list on Saturday (back). The star rusher is now listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans. If McCaffrey is unable to play, this would be his first game missed this... -
Another NFL insider expects 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey to play vs. Titans
In a somewhat surprising move on Saturday, the San Francisco 49ers listed running back Christian McCaffrey as questionable for Sunday's Week 15 matchup against the Tennessee Titans due to a back issue. The designation came one day after the team had listed McCaffrey as full-go... -
John Lynch: 49ers locked in on Colts, not Aiyuk saga or playoff seeding
San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch joined Bay Area radio station KNBR on Friday morning and was asked to reflect on the ongoing Brandon Aiyuk saga. The team recently placed the wide receiver on the reserve/left squad list, officially ending his chances of returning... -
49ers' John Lynch pushes back on narrative that Ricky Pearsall is injury-prone
Second-year wide receiver Ricky Pearsall has dealt with multiple injuries during the 2025 season, leading some to question whether the San Francisco 49ers playmaker is injury-prone. Pearsall first suffered a hamstring injury during the offseason, briefly landing him on the...