San Francisco 49ers star running back Christian McCaffery went down on Sunday Night Football in what appeared to be a non-contact leg injury situation. Following a pitch and run, McCaffrey appeared to suffer a leg injury and collapsed moments after catching the ball.
Read more: 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey Suffers Apparent Non-Contact Lower Leg Injury on SNF
McCaffrey was shown on the sideline pulling off his mouthguard and looked to be frustrated. After spending a few moments in the blue medical tent, the star running back was then shown heading immediately to the locker room.
Now, the 49ers have offered a huge injury update on McCaffrey. Head coach Kyle Shanahan offered an update on McCaffrey, revealing he has been ruled out for the rest of the game against the Bills.
Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images
Losing McCaffrey at this point of the season would be detrimental to the 49ers’ attempt at the postseason. The team has been struggling thus far this season, and losing such an important offensive star like McCaffrey will make competing in the NFC that much harder.
McCaffrey has also been dealing with tons of injuries this season. After suffering an calf strain in preseason, it was revealed that the star 49ers back was suffering from Achilles tendonitis in both feet. He would eventually travel to Germany to receive treatment.
After missing the first nine games of the season, McCaffrey made his 2024 season debut during Week 10. Since then, he has secured 149 yards on the ground, along with 132 yards receiving.
Before exiting Sunday Night Football against the Buffalo Bills, McCaffrey ran for 53 yards on seven carries. Now, the star dual-threat back is likely to miss more time if the injury he sustained ends up being significant upon further testing.
The 49ers are currently 5-6 on the season and have had up-and-down success in 2024. Despite hopes the team would return to the Super Bowl to represent the NFC, the team has struggled to string together multiple wins.
The bigger issue is the NFC is loaded with talented teams, and the 49ers are losing ground to the Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks, and Arizona Cardinals, all of which are in the NFC West along with San Francisco.
That is not to mention the upper-echelon teams in the NFC like the Philadelphia Eagles, Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, and Green Bay Packers.
If McCaffrey is shut down for the rest of 2024, it will be the second offensive star the 49ers lost for the season. Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk suffered a torn ACL in Week 7, ending his season. The hope is that McCaffrey suffered a minor injury and can still help the 49ers chase a playoff berth.
For more on the 49ers, head to Newsweek Sports.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
