Another Scary Christian McCaffrey Injury Update Should Have Fantasy Football Owners Adding His Rookie Handcuff

The latest injury update on Christian McCaffrey and who you should be picking up off your waiver wire.

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) watches warmups before a preseason game against the Tennessee Titans at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

And so it begins. San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey was forced to miss practice today before the team's season opener on Thursday Night Football in Melbourne, Australia, against the Los Angeles Rams. He has been dealing with "tightness," which was downplayed as the team being cautious for weeks now.

Christian McCaffrey is not participating in the 49ers’ open portion of practice, per @MaioccoNBCS. pic.twitter.com/5ueGvkOI4P

— Yahoo Fantasy Sports (@YahooFantasy) September 7, 2026

McCaffrey dealt with what was originally called calf tightness in the preseason of the 2024 season, and he didn't get on the field until November 11, before his season ended after less than four full games. We are not saying that will be the case with this, but it's hard not to at least consider a potentially similar outcome when it comes to CMC and his injury history.

The fact that he is now 30 years old and coming off the largest workload of his career only makes this more concerning. This is a situation to monitor closely over the next few days as we lead up to the Niners' season opener on Thursday.

Fantasy Impact

RB Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers

This is why we have CMC as the RB12 overall in our rankings. If he's on the field, the volume will be there, but all signs point to this being a potentially disastrous season for the aging running back.

Last season, he saw a significant drop in efficiency, going from 5.4 yards per carry in 2023 to 3.9 yards per carry in 2025. That's while carrying the ball a career-high 311 times and catching 102 of 129 targets. That is an unreasonable workload to expect a 30-year-old running back with a lengthy injury history to bounce back from.

If CMC is active, which we still expect him to be as of now, he is unquestionably in your starting lineup, but we would suggest you get ready for a lot more reports like this all season. With that being said, if he gets off to a hot start and you get a great trade offer for him, consider pulling the trigger on the deal.

RB Kalon Black, San Francisco 49ers

The rookie running back is the favorite to be the RB2 in San Francisco this season. If McCaffrey is forced to miss any time, he'd be in line for the first crack at the starting job. Every McCaffrey owner should be stashing him on their bench immediately after he missed practice today.

We don't know if Black would be locked into any sort of bell-cow role or not, but as of now, he's the handcuff to own if you own McCaffrey, and if you own McCaffrey, you should have his handcuff.

RB Jordan James, San Francisco 49ers

James will also be in line for an increased role if McCaffrey misses any time. He has been in the system longer, but missed time in training camp due to an injury. There is a chance that he could emerge as the most valuable back in San Francisco if CMC does get injured, although Black should be the priority over him.

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