12:14pm: An update from Schefter confirms that McCaffrey will indeed play tonight. He received treatment throughout the week, though Schefter adds he did not partake in any contract drills during his limited practice time. It will thus be interesting to see how he holds up in game action as he tries to extend his touchdown streak while avoiding any missed games since his arrival in San Francisco.
8:56am: The 49ers will be shorthanded on offense when they take the field against the Vikings tonight, but their backfield is set to be intact. Christian McCaffrey is expected to play, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter. 
McCaffrey exited San Francisco’s Week 6 loss with an oblique injury after having briefly attempted to re-enter the contest. His absence for part of the game contributed to San Francisco’s season-low scoring output and an underwhelming 108 rushing yards. Especially with wideout Deebo Samuel set to miss at least the next two games, a healthy McCaffrey would be a welcomed development for San Francisco’s offense.
Since being traded away by the Panthers last year, the latter has been as advertised with respect to his impact on the 49ers’ efficiency on the ground and through the air. McCaffrey posted 1,210 scrimmage yards and 10 total touchdowns in just 11 games in the Bay Area after the trade, and that success continued into the start of the 2023 campaign. The 27-year-old leads the league with 553 rushing yards, and even with the injury shortening his Week 6 appearance, he was able to continue his streak of scoring at least one rushing or receiving touchdown in every contest so far.
McCaffrey did not practice on Thursday or Friday, but he logged a limited session on Saturday to clear a path to suiting up for tonight’s primetime matchup. In case he is unable to play, former UDFA Jordan Mason would likely be in line to handle starting duties. The 24-year-old produced 27 yards and one touchdown on his five carries with McCaffrey out of the game, and it would be interesting to see if he could could carry over that efficiency with a full starter’s workload. For now, though, it appears that won’t be necessary.
In other San Francisco injury news, left tackle Trent Williams missed practice all week and is listed as doubtful for Monday’s game. The 10-time Pro Bowler was able to return to last week’s loss to the Browns while battling an ankle injury, but he was in a walking boot after the contest was over. That cast doubt on his ability to play tonight, and it is trending in the direction of a notable absence for the 49ers’ offense as they look to rebound from their only loss of the season so far.
With due respect to McCaffery’s incredible abilities and high value to the offense, you’d think that San Fran would be more inclined to lessen his workload to conserve his availability for the playoffs. Why draft Mitchell if he isn’t going to help even out some of the workload? McCaffery has had injury issues in the past as well. The 9ers are a good team even without considering McCaffery; perhaps it would be prudent to take a step back and try to keep him available for the playoffs. I’m just musing, but there are still a lot of games to go.
Mitchell can’t stay healthy. Mason looks good though.
They drafted Mitchell prior to getting CMC, so he wasn’t drafted for CMC protection.
Look, the 9ers are looking to take care of business especially coming off the loss last week. Seahawks are on their tail at 5-2… Eagles won last night to go to 6-1 and heck the Lions are 5-2. The 9ers want to lockup the conference for home field throughout the playoffs, not to just make the playoffs.
CMC is a gamer and has played his best football in the red and gold uniform. They just simply don’t want to lay off the gas right now. If they can build a 2 TD or better lead tonight and CMC I’d still out there, then your concern is legit.
I know that Mitchell was not drafted for McCaffery. But his role now doesn’t change based on that. My point was that somebody should be used to help shoulder the load for a back who’s had injuries himself.
My veiled point was that Mitchell hasn’t seen the field much, though the 9ers felt comfortable letting prior backs walk due to his drafting. You can’t plan for everything of course, and I don’t mean to suggest that you can. However, it would seem prudent to have tried to get a more reliable second option in today’s NFL, especially if you know that Mitchell has had availability issues. The 9ers are well coached, and well run, but planning for “next man up” has bitten them a few times in the past. If McCaffery goes down at some point in the season, will San Fran be able to get by enough to beat the top teams? They don’t need too much, but they do need something.
They are playing Minnesota, not Philadelphia. Better to let him sit out a week.
Yep.
Didn’t quite go the way everyone expected. McCaffrey was good and SF actually lost. These are my favorite takes because they prove why I need to keep watching sports.
We were wrong! Great game by Minny.
I gave Shanahan too much credit for being a good coach.
Get him some early touches, keep the TD streak alive, and then rest him the rest of the game. No sense getting him more banged up in a game they should win easily.
Saying he can’t play changes Vikings game planning. Saying he can play makes Vikings game plan for him. Potential gamesmanship by SF?