Christian McCaffrey is the engine that powers the San Francisco 49ers’ offense.
Could an injury prevent him from playing in the regular season finale? The star running back has managed to avoid those issues all season long, but he popped up on the injury report with a back ailment ahead of Week 18.
Early indications are that it’s just a stiff back for McCaffrey and the overall concern appears to be minimal. Regardless, his status is now in question for the team’s matchup against the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday, Jan. 3.
The No. 1 seed in the NFC is on line in San Francisco and all eyes are now on the health of McCaffrey.
Here’s the latest on the 49ers running back.
Christian McCaffrey injury update
McCaffrey missed practice on Tuesday, Dec. 30 with a stiff back.
The running back has routinely missed the first official practice of the week all season for rest-related reasons. Given his injury history, it appears San Francisco has been doing everything in its power to ensure the star would be fresh for a postseason run.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan didn’t seem too concerned about the injury for McCaffrey, telling reporters on Dec. 30 that it’s only a stiff back. The coach added that it was an ailment that popped up against the Tennessee Titans on Dec. 14.
‘I know he battled it hard that week, but I haven’t heard anything about it since,’ Shanahan said. ‘It might have stiffened up in the game, and it was sore from Sunday night, so that’s why we’ve got him on here today.’
Shanahan indicated that the team has been holding walkthrough practices since their Week 18 contest against the Seahawks comes on a short week.
Injuries have been a problem for the 49ers throughout the 2025 season, but McCaffrey doesn’t appear to be in danger of missing the regular season finale at this time.
That concern will ramp up if he continues to be sidelined though.
49ers RB depth chart
Christian McCaffrey
Brian Robinson Jr.
Jordan James
Isaac Guerendo
McCaffrey handles a majority of the workload in the San Francisco backfield with a small dose of Robinson snaps sprinkled in.
James and Guerendo remain on the outside looking in at this point in the season.
Shanahan indicated that James moved ahead of Guerendo on the depth chart, but it would still take an injury for him to get some playing time.
If McCaffrey can’t go in Week 18, expect the 49ers to roll with a combination of Robinson and James.