49ers reveal optimistic timeline for Christian McCaffrey’s return

The San Francisco 49ers have fought an uphill battle this entire season, headlined by the injury woes that have followed their best player, Christian McCaffrey, since training camp.

Brandon Aiyuk sat out for training camp and the preseason until he secured a contract extension. He's now sitting on the injured reserve after suffering multiple torn ligaments in his knee last week. San Francisco has also seen Deebo Samuel and George Kittle miss time this season. Backup running back, Jordan Mason, has also been banged up a few times this year, missing two second halves already.

Mason reaggravated his shoulder injury on Sunday Night Football this week, leaving his availability to be questionable heading into Week 9 and beyond.

But the big story has been that with McCaffrey. He's seen multiple setbacks with his Achillies injury resulting in speculation that he could miss the entire 2024 season, which is a drastic difference to what was believed back in training camp when the injury first popped up.

But the 49ers have recently revealed their optimistic, best case scenario timeline for getting McCaffrey back this season.

Kyle Shanahan: "It's going to be nice to get him back, hopefully."

The 49ers have recently announced that they plan to open Christian McCaffrey's IR window next Monday, if he responds well to this week's hard work to simulate practice.

Opening the IR window would give McCaffrey 21 days to practice with the team while not counting against the team's 53-man roster. During this 21-day window, the 49ers must activate McCaffrey or place him on the season ending IR. All the signs, at least as of now, point to him being activated from the IR during this 21-day window.

But, you can never be certain with McCaffrey this season. His calf and Achillies have continued to trend backwards rather than forwards like everybody expected it to. Still, the optimism remains high for the 49ers.

"It's going to be nice to get him [Christian McCaffrey] back, hopefully," head coach Kyle Shanahan said about McCaffrey.

The 49ers currently sit at 4-4, good for a three way tie at the top of the NFC West. They still completely control their destiny with half the season in front of them. If they can get McCaffrey back at close to full strength, they would be the heavy favorites to come out of the division on top.

Still, it's clear that San Francisco has no interest in pushing McCaffrey if he isn't at full health. But, the optimism for a return continues to grow by the day.