San Francisco 49ers fans' long nightmare is finally over. The team announced Saturday that star running back Christian McCaffrey has been activated from injured reserve and will play Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
McCaffrey missed all eight of San Francisco's games so far this season with tendinitis in both his Achilles.
The team sits at 4-4 and is third in the NFC West, a far cry from the position it was comfortably in with McCaffrey in the lineup the last few seasons.
The 2023 league Offensive Player of the Year has not played a snap of meaningful football since Super Bowl LVIII but he may not be thrust into a huge role right away.
"We'll see how it goes with Christian," head coach Kyle Shanahan told NBC Sports Bay Area Friday. "You don't just sit there and split everything up just to do it. You keep the people out there who give you the best chance to win on each play."
It sounds like McCaffrey won't be getting a full workload on Sunday but will be eased back into the flow of the game. However, he believes he's back and healthy.
"I feel good now. I wouldn’t be out here if it was still bothering me. I feel great," McCaffrey said Friday.
Backup rushers Jordan Mason and Isaac Guerendo have handled backfield duties in McCaffrey's absence, racking up a combined 912 yards and four touchdowns.
"It was amazing to see what those guys have done," McCaffrey said of the two. "[It's] no shock ... those guys did hell of a job."
All three rushers will likely feature in San Francisco's game plan based on Shanahan's comments Friday. But it would be a surprise to not see McCaffrey receive the bulk of the share in carries.
