SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- After landing on the injury report Thursday afternoon with a calf issue, San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey was back on the field for Friday's practice but did not actually participate in the session.
McCaffrey is officially listed as questionable for Sunday's regular season opener against the Seattle Seahawks. Coach Kyle Shanahan declined to offer specifics of McCaffrey's injury on Friday but did say the calf issue came up during Thursday's practice.
On Friday, McCaffrey was in uniform for the early portion of practice open to media. He did his usual stretching and warmup routine on the side under the watch of Mike Sola, the team's director of reconditioning. While it's not unusual for McCaffrey to warm up on the side, he does usually join his fellow running backs when individual drills and install begins. He did not do that Friday as he continued to work on the side during the brief portion of practice open to media.
Shanahan then confirmed that McCaffrey did not actually participate in practice.
The addition of McCaffrey to the injury report comes after a promising offseason and training camp in which he had no apparent health issues. He appeared in just four games last year, missing the first eight because of the tendinitis and then the final five after suffering a torn posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee against the Buffalo Bills in Week 13.
During camp, the Niners took care to protect McCaffrey, giving him every third practice off, a similar plan for what they did with him in 2023. It seemed to work as he was the only running back who didn't miss time with an injury.
This week, McCaffrey was on the field for practice Monday and Wednesday, not even appearing on the initial injury report on Wednesday. But his addition came as a surprise on Thursday as he also was not seen in the locker room after practice nor did he do his usual Thursday media availability.
For the 49ers, the McCaffrey situation is a bit of dj vu from last year when McCaffrey was also listed as questionable entering Week 1 because of a calf injury. At that time, McCaffrey also was a limited participant in practices and insisted he would play against the New York Jets, saying a few days before that Monday night opener that he had no doubt that he'd be ready to go and take his usual amount of snaps.
As it turned out, however, McCaffrey did not play against the Jets and then landed on injured reserve the following week with bilateral Achillies tendinitis, a more serious injury than the initial calf tightness that had been described.
If McCaffrey is unable to play, the Niners would turn to Brian Robinson, acquired in trade from the Washington Commanders on Aug. 22, to start against the Seahawks. Upon arrival, Shanahan declared Robinson the No. 2 back behind McCaffrey.
Isaac Guerendo and rookie Jordan James are the other two backs on the roster. James has also been limited in practice this week and is listed as doubtful on the injury report as he returns from a broken finger.
