Kyle Shanahan Still Isn't Certain When Christian McCaffrey Will Return

Christian McCaffrey could be on track to make his season debut on Nov. 10 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers if he has no setbacks between now and then.

Sep 29, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) walks off the field after the game against the New England Patriots at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images / Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

Christian McCaffrey could be on track to make his season debut on Nov. 10 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers if he has no setbacks between now and then.

But the 49ers are being extremely cautious with McCaffrey and still haven't given a firm timeline for his return. Here's what head coach Kyle Shanahan said about McCaffrey on Monday courtesy of the 49ers p.r. department.

Q: Is it also trending for RB Christian McCaffrey to be back after the Bye and potentially play against the Buccaneers?

SHANAHAN: “It depends how this week goes. He's had no setbacks, so it looks like we're on track. He's going to hit it hard this week while we're gone and kind of simulate some practice stuff for himself. And as long as it all goes good, hopefully we'll get him back in practice next week.”

Q How hard has it been to kind of keep Christian McCaffrey restrained and not have him work too hard, making sure that his comeback is on schedule?

SHANAHAN: “I think it was tough at first when we did it in training camp and then felt like he was going to be ready for Week 1. And then after we decided to put him on IR I think it's been pretty easy. That's why we did decide to do that because we knew it was going to be at least a month and shut him down for a while and now build him up slowly and things have been going well. Now it's going to be nice to get him back, hopefully.”

Q: And so, the plan would be to open his window on that Monday for the bonus practice?

SHANAHAN: “If everything continues going right, if he has a good week this week.”

Q: With Christian, is the expectation that once he's back, he's back? That he will have ramped up to a point where you can have his standard workload?

SHANANAN: “No, the expectation is just see how he is when he gets back and then evaluate him as he goes. Of course, the hope is that everything just goes back to normal and it's perfect, that's what we're all striving for. But you’ve got to play that out smartly and you’ve got to evaluate that each day. What we see with our own eyes, what he tells us, that'll be something we constantly are working through.”