Niners Nation
49ers general manager John Lynch attempted to temper expectations about Christian McCaffrey returning to the field right away.
The San Francisco 49ers' general manager, John Lynch, provided a status update for running back Christian McCaffrey on KNBR, who continues his ramp-up period.
As expected, assuming there are no setbacks, McCaffrey’s practice window will open next week as the team prepares to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a critical road game for NFC Playoff standings. Here’s Lynch talking through McCaffrey’s plan:
“The ideal scenario versus Tampa Bay is that he continues to — we keep using this terminology — but ramp up, which just means increasing the volume of work that he’s doing.
He’s been doing that, and he hasn’t had any setbacks. The hope is we take it up another notch this week. Provided that goes well, we’re kind of opening that window, allowing him to go back to practice. IR players can work to the side. They can’t get involved in practice. And so, Christian has been kind of on that plan.”
It’ll be interesting to see whether the plan is for McCaffrey to wear a blue non-contact jersey during his first week of practice. McCaffrey wouldn’t want that, but much like his rehab process, the 49ers should be extra careful when it comes to putting too much on his plate. In this case, it’s unnecessary contact.
When the 49ers opened Kalia Davis’s practice window, he played the following week. Lynch clarified that it’s not a guarantee we see McCaffrey on the field in Tampa Bay:
“Now, just opening his window doesn’t mean he has to play. We have three weeks then, in which we can activate him, so we’ll play this by ear. We’ll listen to Christian, we’ll listen to the expects, and hopefully, very soon, he’s back playing with us on the field. And then, we’ve got to be judicious about how much we use him, and that’s a hard thing to do because he’s so darn good.”
Playing time and spelling McCaffrey could prove to be the biggest challenge Kyle Shanahan faces. The duo of Jordan Mason, who battled a shoulder injury these past couple of weeks, and rookie Isaac Guerendo, who Lynch said is “getting better each week,” have filled in for CMC better than anybody could have hoped. Mason is among the league leaders in yards after contact, while Guerendo's big play ability has closed two games for the offense.
Still, neither are McCaffrey – and they are not close. There were several examples against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 8, from one of the backs running into their own blockers or missing cutback lanes or blocks. They are the types of plays you take for granted and the reason a Shanahan offense isn’t in the top 10 in rushing.
After more discussion about what the ramp-up period for McCaffrey would look like and how the team plans to do right by the player, Lynch believes the 49ers made a good deal...
