Christian McCaffrey 49ers debut: Will CMC play in Week 7 vs. Chiefs?

Christian McCaffrey is a Niner. After the San Francisco 49ers made a deal to bring him in on Thursday, will he play on Sunday against the Chiefs?

Thursday Night Football not entertaining enough? How about a trade to shake up the NFL landscape just a little bit?

While the Arizona Cardinals were trouncing the New Orleans Saints, their division rivals were on the phones making a deal. The fellow NFC South member Carolina Panthers sent running back Christian McCaffrey to the NFC West member San Francisco 49ers on Thursday night.

It has fans (and fantasy owners!) wondering: Is McCaffrey slated to play with his new team in Week 7? The 49ers take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 7 and the extra legs would certainly be of help. The Chiefs are sixth in rushing yards per attempt allowed.

Here’s what we know so far about CMC’s status for Week 7.

Will Christian McCaffrey play this Sunday, Week 7, against Chiefs?

McCaffrey will get to San Francisco at some point on Friday. He’ll have to orient himself, meet his teammates, and get his hands on the playbook for the first time. That gives him all of Saturday to take in the playbook — with no practice time — and get ready for the game on Sunday.

Sound doable? Yeah, probably not.

Adam Schefter sounds quite pessimistic on McCaffrey playing on Sunday, too:

The game is at home, which is one less thing to add to the docket for McCaffrey this weekend if they do want to run him out there for a few plays, although maybe a few hours on a plane with teammates would actually be helpful for diving into the playbook and gameplan.

CMC is pushing the team as hard as he can to let him play, though.

The best guess is that at most, CMC will see a play or two on Sunday to get him warmed up, but probably nothing more. It might be best to sit him this week if you’re a fantasy owner. 49ers fans can get excited about his presence in Week 8 in a significant divisional game against the Los Angeles Rams.