McCaffrey overcomes thigh injury to dominate backfield work

Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey entered Sunday questionable with a thigh injury he had to test pregame. But he wound up with normal playing time and 17 of the 18 RB opportunities for Carolina in the loss to the Cardinals. McCaffrey managed only 27 yards on 8 rushes but caught all 9 of his targets for 81 yards and a TD. D'Onta Foreman got the only other RB touch: a 2-yard run. He played 4 snaps to Chuba Hubbard's 3.

49ers RB Christian McCaffrey (calf) was a full-go in practice all week and is not listed on the final injury report. He'll be ready for his usual workhorse role vs. the Packers on Saturday night.

49ers RB Christian McCaffrey (calf) was a full participant in Tuesday's practice. He'll play -- and be ready for a full workload -- vs. the Packers on Saturday night. McCaffrey sits clear atop the RB Rankings for the Divisional Round.

49ers HC Kyle Shanahan said Tuesday that he expects RB Christian McCaffrey (calf) to be "full-go" in practice next week. That would obviously set CMC up for his usual workhorse role in the Divisional Round. We'll keep you updated on McCaffrey's status, but he seems safe to select for playoff fantasy rosters. He sits No. 1 overall in our NFL Playoff Fantasy Rankings.

49ers RB Christian McCaffrey (calf) will not play vs. the Rams this weekend, HC Kyle Shanahan confirmed Monday. Shanahan called McCaffrey's injury a "mild calf strain." It's unclear if CMC would be able to play if this game meant something to San Francisco, but he was never going to suit up with the NFC's No. 1 seed clinched. He'll get three total weeks to heal up before the 49ers' playoff opener. We'll see about the team's backfield plans this weekend. RBs Elijah Mitchell and Jordan Mason are on the active roster, with RB Ty Davis-Price on the practice squad.

Neither 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey nor HC Kyle Shanahan sounded concerned about the calf injury that knocked McCaffrey from Sunday's win over the Commanders. “I’m not sure what happened,” McCaffrey said. “It was pretty minor. I was having a hard time pushing off. And just for precautionary reasons, it’d be better to just rest it." Shanahan said, "We think he’ll be all right. He was moving around all right on the sideline. We’re hoping it’s not too bad, but we’ll know more tomorrow.” McCaffrey won't play in Sunday's meaningless regular-season finale and will then get a first-round playoff bye. It sounds like he'll be ready when the 49ers return for the Divisional Round. We'll keep you updated on McCaffrey's status.