The more things change, the more they stay the same. The 49ers will kick off a new season on Sunday after an offseason that has seen a host of substantial changes to their roster, but, for the second year running, they go into their Week 1 matchup with Christian McCaffrey an injury concern.
McCaffrey was a surprise inactive in Week 1 last year due to Achilles tendinitis, a problem that lingered throughout the year and was a key factor in the 49ers’ inability to avoid a Super Bowl hangover.
On that
occasion, McCaffrey was listed as questionable before being named among the inactives for a primetime opener. With Jordan Mason reportedly told he would be starting the previous Friday, the 49ers’ handling of the episode provoked plenty of questions, along with outrage from the fantasy community.
Fast forward to the present day, and fantasy players everywhere are again in a cold sweat, and there’s a sense of deja vu with McCaffrey insisting he is going to play after being listed as questionable for the 49ers’ season opener with the Seattle Seahawks after missing Friday’s practice with a calf injury.
McCaffrey’s positivity followed a press conference from Kyle Shanahan in which the 49ers head coach could at best be described as guarded as he was peppered with questions about his star running back.
For now, there isn’t any suggestion that McCaffrey’s calf issue marks a recurrence of the tendinitis that derailed his 2024 season, and the expectation is that he will play in the 49ers’ 2025 opener.
But the injury still represents an early red flag, one that makes last month’s trade with the Washington Commanders for Brian Robinson Jr. look increasingly prescient.
As was the case with Mason last year, Robinson gives the 49ers a high-end backup who can not only keep the run game on schedule, but also provide a big-play threat from the backfield.
Indeed, last season Robinson ranked 19th among all backs (min. 100 carries) for rate of his designed runs that went for 15 yards or more, per Pro Football Focus. He isn’t the home consistent home run threat that McCaffrey represents, but Robinson is a player who has the all-round game to take a lot of the burden off San Francisco’s lead back.
With Robinson on the depth chart, the 49ers don’t need to raise the risk of a significant McCaffrey injury by leaning on him too hard.
The 49ers have consistently been guilty of relying on McCaffrey too much, and that is understandable given the upside he brings in the passing game. But having a number two of Robinson’s caliber ensures the 49ers can still harness McCaffrey’s talents as a receiver while getting him much more rest than he has been afforded in recent years. They even have the option of going to Pony personnel and playing with both on the field at the same time.
McCaffrey is famously not a fan of rest, but, by trading for Robinson the 49ers have a way to maximize the former Offensive Player of the Year’s chances of staying healthy for the entire campaign. It was a smart trade to make and, with a long season ahead, the 49ers need to make sure they immediately reap the benefits. McCaffrey will play in Seattle, but the 49ers must protect him from himself and make the most of the Robinson insurance policy in Week 1.
