Christian McCaffrey has taken one very large step forward on the road to making his long-awaited 2024 season debut.
The San Francisco 49ers officially opened McCaffrey's practice window on Monday.
McCaffrey has been sidelined since training camp with calf and Achilles ailments and now has 21 days for the 49ers to add him to the active roster.
It's been a long and winding path to get to this point.
At the onset of training camp, San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan announced McCaffrey would likely miss a couple of weeks of practice due to a calf injury and wouldn't play in the preseason as a precaution. However, CMC was then a surprising inactive in the season opener and eventually was placed on injured reserve, a seemingly benign injury that the Niners were playing safe growing to a major concern.
McCaffrey even ventured to Germany to get expert treatment on the nagging ailment.
Now, his practice window is open and the 49ers (4-4) are hoping it will lead to his season debut sooner rather than later.
In McCaffrey's absence, Jordan Mason has filled in admirably and then some, rushing for 685 yards in eight games. Mason dinged up his shoulder in Week 8 and rookie Isaac Guerendo had a good showing himself.
However, getting back the reigning AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year and NFL rushing champion shouldn't be overlooked.
McCaffrey's nose for the end zone, his dual-threat ability and just his overall game have been pivotal in the 49ers' offensive success since he arrived in the Bay Area via trade with the Carolina Panthers during the 2022 season.
For now, CMC isn't back just yet, but he's one big step closer.
