Christian McCaffrey is set to be on the field Sunday when the San Francisco 49ers host the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 9.
McCaffrey had missed practice time earlier in the week because of a hamstring injury, but he is now off the injury report and expected to play. That’s a boost for a 49ers team already dealing with multiple missing weapons, including receivers Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel Sr.
The star back has been a constant for San Francisco all season, appearing in every game in the 2026 campaign and playing 68.9 percent of the team’s offensive snaps as the 49ers have raced to a 6-1 start. Through seven games, McCaffrey has 84 carries for 389 yards, averaging 4.6 yards per carry, and eight touchdowns. He’s also been a major factor in the passing game, catching 34 of 42 targets for 251 yards.
With San Francisco short-handed at receiver, McCaffrey should be leaned on again. Brock Purdy has already shown he can keep the offense moving when Evans and Samuel are unavailable, and the matchup lines up well for the 49ers, who are 9.5-point favorites at home.
That makes McCaffrey’s receiving production the prop angle to watch. The Raiders have struggled badly against the pass, ranking 28th in the NFL in EPA/Pass and 30th in EPA/Play, and McCaffrey has been getting more work through the air lately.
Over his last two games, he’s been targeted 17 times and hauled in nine and six catches in those contests. His role as a receiver has grown since Evans went down with an Achilles injury in the first half of the team’s Week 6 win over Washington.
McCaffrey is averaging six targets per game this season, and with Evans, Samuel and Christian Kirk all out Sunday, the 49ers are running thin on options for Purdy through the air. McCaffrey has long been one of the league’s best pass-catching backs, and he should be in line for plenty of opportunities against a Raiders defense that has been picked apart by multiple teams, including the New York Jets last week, during the 2026 season.
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