The San Francisco 49ers have missed the services of their leading offensive weapon, and it has led to jokes from a good number of fans.
On Monday, NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco reported that running back Christian McCaffrey was sitting out that day’s practice because of what the team called “tightness”.
Thanks for the submission!
•
The development was met with much fan derision:
Looking to predict NFL playoff Scenarios? Try our NFL Playoff Predictor for real-time simulations and stay ahead of the game!
After practice, offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak denied being concerned about McCaffrey’s absence:
“Just managing. A little sore, but he’s doing fine, so just kind of managing him as we go.”
He continued:
“Christian always kind of has his rep count in any camp. … In terms of his rep load, we’re right on track where we want to be. And he’s a veteran player, so you’ve got to monitor him and get him ready for the first week.”
McCaffrey, however, is not the 49ers’ only running back who is hurting. Isaac Guerendo is currently on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list because of a pectoral tear, while Jordan James and Kaelon Black have also dealt with injuries of their own.
Nevertheless, Kubiak expressed confidence that the running back room was deep enough to more than make up for those losses:
“Those guys will get back out there. They’re not far away. But it’s given guys opportunities to get better, too. You talk about guys like Patrick Taylor, Sincere McCormick, and Khalil [Herbert]. It gives us a chance to get [WR] Deebo [Samuel] in there a little bit and get some touches.”
Other absences from 49ers’ Monday practice, explained
Another 49ers star who did not practice on Monday was edge rusher Nick Bosa, who continues to recuperate from his ACL tear. Head coach Kyle Shanahan had given this update on him two days ago:
“He was doing great, and then he got sore just going through some of the individuals. … There’s no concern to where something’s happened that is a big setback or anything. We’re waiting until the soreness goes away and evaluating why the soreness has happened, but I still feel pretty good.”
Wide receivers Mike Evans (quad) and Christian Kirk (calf) also did not practice. De’Zhaun Stribling (hamstring), meanwhile, was initially listed as absent, but ultimately showed up sometime later.
Edited by Andre Castillo