San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey could make his season debut during Week 7 against the Kansas City Chiefs “if his current progress continues without any setbacks,” according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
McCaffrey was placed on injured reserve for a calf/Achilles injury ahead of Week 2.
He is eligible to return as of Week 6, but will not be activated for the upcoming Thursday contest against the Seattle Seahawks, per Schefter.
McCaffrey returned to on-field work this week for the first time since he was placed on IR, Schefter reported.
The three-time Pro Bowler recently traveled to Germany to see a specialist about his condition, which involves Achilles tendinitis in both legs, head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters.
Schefter reported that the Achilles tendinitis “is not considered a concern,” and that the issue “is concentrated to one of his legs, and the other is faring better.”
After Sunday’s home game against the Arizona Cardinals and Thursday’s road contest in Seattle, both of which McCaffrey will reportedly miss, the 49ers are scheduled for two more home games before their Week 9 bye week.
Although McCaffrey could return for either of the Week 6 game against the Chiefs or a Week 7 contest against the Dallas Cowboys, Schefter wrote that the 49ers could “even more reasonably” schedule him to return for Week 10 at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in order to take advantage of the bye.
McCaffrey has dealt with calf and Achilles issues since training camp and was limited in practice heading into Week 1.
The running back was initially on the 49ers’ roster for the regular season opener, but was a late scratch before the game and later placed on injured reserve.
McCaffrey led the NFL with 1,459 rushing yards as well as with 2,023 all-purpose yards and 21 total touchdowns during the first Pro Bowl season of his 49ers tenure last year.
The 49ers, who accordingly led the league in rushing yards last season, currently rank eighth even without McCaffrey thanks to a breakout season from third-year back Jordan Mason.
Getting a healthy McCaffrey back would allow San Francisco to lighten the workload for Mason, who currently leads the NFL with 91 carries, and once more make the 49ers one of the most dangerous rushing offenses in the league.