49ers' McCaffrey expects usual workload in opener

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- If all goes according to plan in Monday night's opener against the New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey believes he will not only be playing but handling his usual amount of snaps.

After missing most of training camp with a calf and Achilles injury, McCaffrey returned to practice Tuesday and participated in Thursday's and Friday's sessions as well.

On Friday, McCaffrey spoke to Bay Area media for the first time since the injury, and although he didn't offer expansive answers on anything health-related, he made it clear what he expects to happen Monday.

Asked if there's any doubt he will play against the Jets, McCaffrey said simply, "No."

Asked if he will take his normal, heavy workload, McCaffrey said, "I hope so."

Earlier Friday, Niners general manager John Lynch told KNBR radio in San Francisco that McCaffrey would "be out there and ready to roll" against the Jets assuming he continues through the rest of the practice week.

Niners coach Kyle Shanahan first announced that McCaffrey strained a calf on Aug. 6, noting that the star running back would miss the entire preseason slate and a few weeks of practice.

That's exactly how it played out, as McCaffrey didn't return to practice officially until Tuesday's "bonus" practice, though he'd been running and working on the side for a couple of weeks before that.

Although McCaffrey has been officially listed as limited the past couple of days, he has been moving around on the practice field with no visible restrictions. He said he was feeling "much better" Friday.

"He looks like Christian to me," run game coordinator Chris Foerster said. "You need to practice, so the guys who haven't practiced, I don't want to say there's rust, but there's always a little something that goes on just because they haven't been doing it every day. There's just that grind of every day, day after day. But he's looked good."

Because the Niners didn't have to post an official injury report until Thursday, the addition of the Achilles to McCaffrey's injury description raised some eyebrows. Shanahan said Thursday that the Achilles was related to the calf and part of the initial injury that landed McCaffrey on the sideline in early August.

McCaffrey said the Achilles is "not a concern" when asked if there was any long-term worry. In a mid-August interview, he said he would have been able to play if there were a regular-season or playoff game coming up.

Teammates are expecting a strong encore to the 1,459 rushing yards, 564 receiving yards and 21 total touchdowns McCaffrey posted in 2023 on his way to the NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award.

"He has an incredibly high standard for himself," tight end George Kittle said. "He takes this incredibly seriously ... so, I believe that Christian is going to have another great year. I think he'll probably compete for the MVP."

While McCaffrey was recovering, Jordan Mason emerged as the primary back, a strong indication he would be first in line to take any snaps McCaffrey might miss. The Niners also have rookie Isaac Guerendo and veteran Patrick Taylor Jr. on the roster at running back. Guerendo has also been limited in practice this week because of a groin injury.

For now, McCaffrey said he isn't concerned about anything other than getting ready for the Jets and kicking off the regular season.

"It's just taking it one play at a time," McCaffrey said. "I don't like to look at what's ahead. Each play has a life of its own. Just do what you have to do on each play, take care of the things that you can control and then go from there."