SANTA CLARA — Less than a week ago, 49ers’ running back Christian McCaffrey stood before reporters and with clipped answers said he expected to play against the New York Jets.
McCaffrey met the media again Wednesday and said the same thing about Sunday’s road game in Week 2 against the Minnesota Vikings.
“My mentality is that I’m playing this week,” McCaffrey said. “That’s where I’m at. That’s my mentality every week. I’m not lying. I think as a soon as a player says, `Maybe I’ll play, maybe I won’t’ that’s not a good mentality to go into the week with when you’re kind of on the fence. So for me, I’m ready to go.”
So there you have it. McCaffrey’s answer will almost always be he’s going to play because he knows no other way to approach it.
The end game as it pertains to facing Minnesota is less certain. McCaffrey was listed as limited in practice with a calf/Achilles injury, just as he was last week. The fact that he was limited, and not out, should be interpreted as good news, according to coach Kyle Shanahan.
“I’m not a doctor, but I’d take that as a positive,” Shanahan said.
And in case you happen to have drafted the NFL’s reigning Offensive Player of the Year No. 1 on your fantasy team and are worried about it, Shanahan said a four-week stint on injured reserve to get McCaffrey completely healthy isn’t currently an option.
“I’ve never considered that,” Shanahan said. “I considered him to play last week so definitely not thinking about four weeks off.”
The likelihood is that McCaffrey, Shanahan, general manager John Lynch and the medical staff will see how practice goes and come to a decision later in the week about his availability for the Vikings. Maybe even on game day.
According to McCaffrey, that’s how it went down on Monday.
“There’s been weeks when I go the full week not even feeling good enough to do the walkthrough but I wake up and my body’s capable of cool things,” McCaffrey said. “I woke up and it was a group decision. A very tough one. I hate not playing, but I look at it as a chess move and hopefully it’s something we can benefit from the rest of the season.”
While McCaffrey sustained a calf injury in Week 17 last season against Washington — sitting out a meaningless regular season finale against the Rams before being listed on the injury report before the playoff game against Green Bay — he said the injuries are unrelated.
“It doesn’t have anything to do with last season, it’s just something I’m dealing with that I’ll get right,” McCaffrey said.
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McCaffrey’s absence thrust Jordan Mason into the role of lead back, and the third-year player responded with 28 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown. Rather than give Mason a pep talk after realizing he wouldn’t play, McCaffrey left him alone.
“I’m so proud of him,” McCaffrey said. “When you’re in a rhythm, in a groove, you let ’em be. And he showed that, and I was so pumped for him, and just everything that he’s done all camp. He’s earned that and it showed.”
More to come on this breaking story . . .
