Surprise, surprise, fantasy football players: The sure thing became the unsure thing just a little while ago.
San Francisco running back Christian McCaffrey, one of the league’s biggest stars, is out for Monday night’s opener in Santa Clara against the New York Jets, so says several reports, including ESPN’s NFL insider Adam Schefter.
McCaffrey said late last week that he would play, but has been dealing with injuries to his Achillies and calf muscle over the course of the last month, and apparently the 49ers decided just a little while ago to be safe rather than sorry.
McCaffrey, the son of former NFL wide receiver Ed McCaffrey (who also once played for the 49ers), was last year’s NFL Offensive Player of the Year – he had 1,459 rushing yards, 564 yards receiving and scored 21 total touchdowns in 2023.
Jordan Mason, reports say, will likely get the start in place of McCaffrey. Mason is an undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech, and this will be his first career start.
Other running backs for the Niners are Patrick Taylor Jr., and rookie Isaac Guerendo – Elijah Mitchell is on injured reserve.
