If you participated in fantasy football this season, there’s a good chance you or someone in your league selected San Francisco 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey with the first overall pick. Even if he didn’t go number one, he was almost certainly taken within the first few selections, given his proven ability to rack up points in PPR (points per reception) leagues. But for those who were excited about drafting McCaffrey early, the latest injury update could spell disaster for their fantasy football season.
McCaffrey, who appeared relatively healthy just a week ago, is now raising major concerns. Despite some minor injuries, particularly a calf issue, he was expected to play through them, especially considering his crucial role in the 49ers’ offense. However, fantasy managers received bad news on Monday when McCaffrey was scratched just an hour before the team’s season-opening win against the Jets on Monday Night Football. Reports emerged that he might miss Week 2 as well, but the situation took a worse turn late Friday afternoon.
It was announced that McCaffrey will not only miss Week 2’s game against the Minnesota Vikings, but his absence could extend much longer than anticipated. According to Nick Wagoner, a prominent NFL reporter, the 49ers are now considering placing McCaffrey on injured reserve (IR), which would sideline him for a minimum of four weeks.
“49ers coach Kyle Shanahan says that RB Christian McCaffrey had his worst day health-wise yesterday in terms of pain. IR is now under consideration, which would mean missing at least the next four games,” Wagoner reported on Twitter.
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For those unfamiliar, the NFL has a retroactive injured reserve rule. If a player is placed on IR, the mandatory four-game absence can be counted starting from the first game of the season, even if the player was not officially placed on IR at that time. If McCaffrey is put on IR now, the 49ers could apply the missed games retroactively to Week 1, meaning he wouldn’t be eligible to return until Week 5, at the earliest, when San Francisco faces the Arizona Cardinals.
For fantasy football managers who invested heavily in McCaffrey, this news is devastating. In standard snake drafts, selecting McCaffrey likely meant waiting until the end of the second round for another pick. In auction drafts, many spent 25% or more of their total budget on the star running back. Missing McCaffrey for potentially four weeks could result in a disastrous start to the season, possibly leaving some teams at 0-4, a deep hole to climb out of when it comes to making the playoffs.
The hope now is that McCaffrey can avoid being placed on IR, but based on the latest reports, it doesn’t seem promising. Even if he’s not officially placed on injured reserve, the likelihood of him missing multiple games remains high.
For fantasy owners scrambling to adjust, the time to act is now. If McCaffrey’s backup, Jordan Mason, is still available in your league, he should be a top priority on the waiver wire. Mason is expected to take on a larger role in the 49ers’ backfield in McCaffrey’s absence, and he could prove to be a valuable stopgap for teams struggling to fill the void left by the injured star.
In fantasy football, injuries are always a risk, but losing a player of McCaffrey’s caliber so early in the season can be especially painful.
Hopefully, he can recover quickly, but for now, fantasy managers will have to hold their breath and prepare for life without their first-round pick for the foreseeable future.
