49ers RB Christian McCaffrey Explains Why He Didn’t Play Against the Jets

Spoiler: He's injured.

Sep 9, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) watches from the sideline due to injury during the second quarter against the New York Jets at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images / David Gonzales-Imagn Images

SANTA CLARA -- Christian McCaffrey was asked about his Achilles tendonitis Wednesday in the 49ers locker room. Here's what he said.

Q: When did you feel you weren't going to be able to play against the Jets?

McCAFFREY: "On Monday morning, just moving around a little bit. I prepare every week to play. My mindset every week is I want to play. There have been weeks where I'll go the full week not even feeling good enough to do the walk-through, and then I wake up and my body is capable of a lot of cool things. Mentally, I'm always prepared to play in the game. But it was a group decision, a very tough one. I hate not playing. I look at it as a chess move and something that hopefully we can benefit from the rest of the season."

Q: Is it at all a remnant from the calf injury from the end of last season?

McCAFFREY: "It doesn't have anything to do with anything last season, no. It's just something I'm dealing with and I'll get right."

Q: Were there any days in practice last week when you didn't feel right or you felt worse than other days?

McCAFFREY: "When you don't feel right in practice, there's a difference between you don't feel right but maybe by Sunday you'll be good to go when you're working through some stuff and something is off. Mentally, I'm always prepared to play. My mindset is I'm going to play no matter what I'm going through physically. And then on game day, you have to make the decision."

Q: Are you expecting a similar process this week?

McCAFFREY: "My mentality is I'm playing this week. That's where I'm at. That's how I am every week. I'm not lying. As soon as a player says maybe I'll play, maybe I won't, that's not a good mentality to go into a week with when you're on the fence. I'm ready to go."

Q: Will the artificial turf be an issue?

McCAFFREY: "No. If you can't run on turf, you can't run on grass. If you can go, you can go."