Report: Christian McCaffrey injury is a 'pain-tolerance thing'
The health of a quartet of 49ers stars is the big storyline as the Vikings hope to pull an upset on Monday night and increase momentum entering a stretch of games that looks a lot more winnable than the gauntlet they've started the first seven weeks of the season with.
While reports out of San Fran on Monday suggested that wide receiver Deebo Samuel (shoulder) and left tackle Trent Williams (ankle) are day-to-day, there's less information about running back Christian McCaffrey, who left Sunday's game against the Browns with oblique and ribs injuries.
Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan said McCaffrey was undergoing an MRI on Monday and now Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area is reporting that "McCaffrey's injury is more of a pain-tolerance thing."
As I understand it, Christian McCaffrey's injury is more of a pain-tolerance thing. The extra day helps. At this point, it's not out of the question McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel and Trent Williams can all be available for MNF vs. the Vikings. https://t.co/A0Dpu3Ny4m
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) October 17, 2023
That's significant because if McCaffrey can handle the pain, the 49ers could enter the showdown in Minneapolis with all of their key players, albeit not all of them at 100%.
McCaffrey has been a monster since being traded from Carolina to the 49ers. He's scored a touchdown in 15 consecutive games and he leads the NFL in rushing yards (553) and rushing first downs (30) this season. Had had 10 touchdowns in 11 games with San Francisco last season and he already has nine touchdowns (7 rushing, 2 receiving) in six games this season.
If McCaffrey misses the game the backup running backs are Jordan Mason (117 yards, 2 TD on 21 carries this season) and Elijah MItchell (48 rushing yards on 18 carries).
If McCaffrey plays, it's bad news for Minnesota. If he's held out, it's potentially a game-changer for both teams.
Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen. His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011. Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play. Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers. Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.