Injuries continue to deplete 49ers; McCaffrey, Mason both head to injured reserve
The disastrous season for the San Francisco 49ers continued Monday with word of both top running backs out for multiple weeks, the latest in a series of injuries as the team's playoff chances fizzle.
In a conference call with reporters Monday, head coach Kyle Shanahan said starting back Christian McCaffrey would be placed on the injured reserve list because of a posterior cruciate ligament injury to his right knee, which happened during the team's 35-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night.
In addition, backup running back Jordan Mason is also headed to IR with a high-ankle sprain and will miss at least four games. Defensive lineman Kevin Givens tore his pectoral muscle, which will sideline him for the rest of the season, Shanahan said.
Shanahan acknowledged on Sunday that McCaffrey's injury could mean his season is over. On Monday, Shanahan said the injury would not require surgery, but has an expected recovery period of six weeks. The defending NFC Champions are 5-7 and in last place in the NFC West with five games remaining.
McCaffrey, the NFL's AP Offensive Player of the Year last season, missed the 49ers' first eight games with Achilles tendinitis. He was beginning to get back to his 2023 form and had peeled off several long runs Sunday when he went down hard on his knee on the snowy turf in Buffalo. On a subsequent run, he slid down to the turf without contact after a couple of steps and went immediately to the sideline to be examined in the medical tent.
Mason carried the ball for 73 yards on 13 carries Sunday before he was also injured. Rookie Isaac Guerendo, who ran for a 15-yard touchdown in the third quarter, now assumes the starting role for a depleted Niners team that has battled injuries to many of its starters all season.
The 49ers were missing five starters against Buffalo. This season the team has lost Brandon Aiyuk, Jon Feliciano, Javon Hargrave, Talanoa Hufanga, and Elijah Mitchell to the injured reserve list. They have also played the entire season without star linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who tore his Achilles during last year's Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
On Sunday, All-Pros Trent Williams and Nick Bosa sat out because of injury and were joined by Aaron Banks, Jordan Elliott, Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, and Deommodore Lenoir. In recent weeks the 49ers have also seen Brock Purdy, George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, Jauan Jennings, Ricky Pearsall, and Jake Moody, among others, miss games due to various injuries.
The 49ers have also been devastated by off-field tragedies that have befallen several players. On Monday it was revealed that Williams and his wife lost one of their expected twin babies during her pregnancy and that the other was stillborn in late November. In October, star cornerback Charvarius Ward announced his 23-month-old daughter had died following complications from birth. Ward was on bereavement leave for weeks after her death and Sunday was his first game back.
Before the season began, the 49ers' top draft pick Ricky Pearsall was shot in the chest near San Francisco's Union Square. He has since recovered and made his on-field debut with the team in October, just 50 days after the shooting.
