The 49ers left Atlanta with their unbeaten start gone, but they also got the kind of injury update that can calm a room fast. Kyle Shanahan said Monday that Christian McCaffrey is dealing with a mild hamstring strain, and the team is feeling good about his chances of being back after the bye.
Shanahan didn’t sound like a coach bracing for bad news. Asked whether McCaffrey should be available against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 9, he said, “Yeah, we think so, with it just being that,” then added, “You never know for sure, but we’re pretty optimistic about it. So is he.”
That’s a welcome shift from the uneasy moments in the first half of Sunday’s 29-20 loss to the Falcons, when McCaffrey’s day suddenly changed. He opened the game by scoring on the 49ers’ first drive, punching in a one-yard touchdown and looking every bit like the centerpiece of the offense. Before the injury, he had 29 rushing yards and a score on four carries, plus 45 receiving yards on three catches.
Then came the setback. McCaffrey said his leg “just died on me.”
He went to the sideline before halftime, returned after the break, and still finished the game, but the burst was gone. From there, he added 10 rushing yards and 16 receiving yards, ending with 100 total yards on 13 touches.
Once he wasn’t operating at full speed, San Francisco’s offense started to unravel. Jordan James fumbled, rookie Kaelon Black lost another fumble on the very next snap, and the 49ers coughed it up four times overall.
The schedule, at least, gives McCaffrey room to recover without missing a game. A Grade 1 hamstring strain typically takes one to three weeks to heal, and San Francisco doesn’t play again until November 8, when the Raiders visit Levi’s Stadium. That means McCaffrey gets the full two weeks before the next kickoff.
His return to the game in Atlanta also points toward something less severe than a major tear.
McCaffrey isn’t the only injured 49er with a chance to come back after the bye. Shanahan said Nick Bosa, Mike Evans, and Deebo Samuel could all be in play as well, though he made clear none of them are guarantees.
That matters with the November 10 trade deadline looming and John Lynch weighing how aggressive to be. But the biggest piece is still McCaffrey. He’s been the stabilizer through all the injury chaos, and with the 49ers sitting at 6-1 and holding a comfortable lead in the NFC West, they can afford to take the cautious route.
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