When will McCaffrey return to 49ers? No one knows, but it’s headed in the wrong direction

SANTA CLARA — There are plenty of reasons to be concerned about the 49ers in the wake of a 1-2 start even if many of their issues are self-inflicted and remain correctable with 14 games remaining.

Yet a leaky defense, poor special teams play and myriad injuries don’t come close to the biggest reason to be worried about a franchise looking to reach its fourth straight NFC Championship Game with an eye toward a long-awaited sixth Lombardi Trophy.

It’s of some consolation that Deebo Samuel and George Kittle look as if they’ll play Sunday against the New England Patriots at Levi’s Stadium, but Christian McCaffrey’s cloudy long-term status is a major concern.

Hall of Famer Steve Young tried his best to put a good face on McCaffery’s battle with Achilles tendinitis Wednesday during his weekly spot on KNBR-680.

“Even with our depletion, with guys running around trying to get healthy in Germany, we can still thrive because we have the people,” Young said.

Whether the 49ers can actually thrive without McCaffrey, the 2023 NFL Offensive Player of the Year, is a fair question. It’s also fair to wonder how much we’ll see McCaffrey this year. If McCaffrey does return, when will that be? And even if he does, will he be anything approaching what the 49ers have come to expect in the 33 mercurial regular season and postseason games since he arrived by trade on Oct. 20, 2022?

McCaffrey hasn’t been healthy for a long time, rendering the ultimate practice warrior unable to feed his obsessive nature for repetition.

To review, McCaffrey was a spectator at the 49ers’ mandatory minicamp for an unspecified medical issue. McCaffrey told an on-site NFL Network crew not to worry, that he’d be on the field if there were a game to play.

Then came training camp, when he was out with a “calf/Achilles” problem. McCaffrey said his absence was a precaution.

When the regular season began, McCaffrey stated his intentions of playing in Week 1 against the New York Jets. He didn’t. Then before the 49ers faced Minnesota in Week 2, he said sitting out the first week was a “chess move” to be ready for the rest of the season and that his mentality was always going to be that he would play if humanly possible.

Shanahan, meanwhile, initially rejected the notion of McCaffrey going on injured reserve to give him four extra weeks to heal. Two days later, McCaffery was indeed on injured reserve, guaranteeing a five-game absence to start the season.

Then it was off to Germany for treatment. Athletes such as Peyton Manning, Kobe Bryant and others have undergone blood treatments to promote healing in Germany that are not available in the United States.

Tight end George Kittle said Thursday he’s been in contact with McCaffrey, but imparted no other information.

“I think he’s doing really well,” tight end Kittle said. “Time zones are funny – I think I talked to him yesterday. But he’s doing really solid. Just looking forward to seeing my really good friend.”

While McCaffery is eligible to play on Oct. 10 when the 49ers visit Seattle on a Thursday night, Shanahan said Thursday on KNBR that the absence was open-ended. It sounds as if the Seattle game is a pipe dream.

“I think we’ll have a better idea over the next couple of weeks,” Shanahan said.

And the 49ers are good with whatever McCaffery determines is the best for his own body because of how serious he takes his health and recovery. It sounds as if the visit to Germany was only one of McCaffery’s stops as he looks for a way to get back on the field.

“Christian is seeing every specialist he can,  doing all the little stuff more than anybody I’ve ever been around,” Shanahan said. “He has a full-time commitment to everything for his body year-round. He’s been doing that stuff while not pushing it hard in rehab. Now we’ll probably turn it up in the next couple of weeks.”

As of Wednesday, Shanahan said he hadn’t talked to McCaffery. When asked if there was a possibility McCaffery wouldn’t play at all in 2024, Shanahan said, `Not that I know of.”

Young, however, stated the obvious.

“It’s a bad thing that you have to do such desperate measures,” Young said. “You go to Germany for a particular procedure . . . if it’s something you can’t get in the U.S. then something’s not right . . . it’s super worrisome. You can easily say, ‘Where’s this season going to go for Christian?'”

Shanahan was just fine running an offense with multiple running backs the way his father did for so many years with the Denver Broncos. Then McCaffrey came along, and in the words of general manager John Lynch “unlocked” the 49ers offense.

McCaffrey is one of the NFL’s top runners from scrimmage. His receiving skills and route running are such that he would instantly be one of the league’s top slot receivers if moved there full-time. And at its most basic, McCaffrey’s nose for the end zone — he’s got 39 touchdowns in 33 regular-season and postseason games — enabled the 49ers to put games away by capitalizing on scoring opportunities and gave Shanahan another versatile option aside from Samuel.

The 49ers were a playoff team before McCaffrey arrived, but it’s hard to imagine them making another run to the Super Bowl without him. And given McCaffrey’s “practice makes perfect” approach, it remains to be seen if and when he can get back up to speed with such a long layoff in terms of physically working on his craft.

The best hope may be easing him into a role that includes Mason doing a lot of the between-the-tackles running, something Shanahan said he was considering anyway because of McCaffery’s NFL-high 339 touches (rushing and receiving) last season.

Flash back to Feb. 11 and a 25-22 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime of Super Bowl LVIII. McCaffrey rushed 22 times for 80 yards and caught eight passes for 80 yards including a 21-yard touchdown from Jauan Jennings. McCaffrey also lost a fumble on the 49ers’ opening possession deep in Chiefs territory.

“I’m still a little numb and angry and going through all of the emotions,” McCaffrey said afterward. “I’ll just have to wake up tomorrow and try again.”

That was eight months ago. When McCaffrey takes the field again is anybody’s guess. An anxious fan base awaits an answer that could determine the course of the season.