San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) is tackled by Washington Commanders safety Jartavius Martin (20) and linebacker Cody Barton (57) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
SANTA CLARA — Christian McCaffrey won’t play this preseason, which comes as no surprise given he never took a snap a year ago in three exhibition games.
This time, however, instead of protecting a healthy McCaffrey, the defending 2023 NFL Offensive Player of the Year will be out because of injury.
“Christian has a calf strain, did it a couple of days ago,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said Tuesday. “It’s all right, it isn’t pulled or anything, but you probably won’t see him this preseason.”
That also likely means the 49ers won’t risk McCaffrey on Aug. 15-16 in joint practices with the New Orleans Saints at U.C. Irvine.
McCaffrey left the 49ers’ Week 17 game last New Year’s Eve in a 27-10 win over the Washington Commanders with a calf strain and didn’t play in the regular-season finale, a 21-20 loss against the Los Angeles Rams.
A year ago, McCaffrey didn’t play in any of the 49ers three preseason games against the Raiders, Broncos and Chargers and hit the ground running in Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers with 152 yards in 22 carries in a 30-7 win.
McCaffrey went on to rush for 1,459 yards on 272 carries, catch 67 passes for 564 yards and score 21 touchdowns rushing and receiving en route to being named the Offensive Player of the Year.
Also out for the second straight day was running back Elijah Mitchell, who Shanahan said had a hamstring strain that wasn’t serious.
“We’re going to be safe with him,” Shanahan said. “Probably will miss a week or so.”
With McCaffrey and Mitchell both sidelined, the 49ers brought in a familiar face in Matt Breida, who instantly got plenty of work in team sessions Tuesday.
From 2017 through 2019 with the 49ers, Breida gained 1,902 yards on 381 carries and scored six touchdowns in addition to catching 67 passes for 561 yards and four scores. He was the 49ers’ leading rusher with 814 yards in 2018. Breida played with Miami and Buffalo in 2020 an 2021 before joining the New York Giants in 2022.
“We were able to bring Matt in, which is awesome to have Matt available,” Shanahan said. “We need numbers out there and to get a legit player that’s had a hell of a career that’s been here before, we feel very fortunate.”
In other injury news, rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, who had a long touchdown reception from Brock Purdy early in practice, left with a shoulder injury of unknown severity, an injury Shanahan said also happened in OTAs.
“I don’t know if it’s too serious, but that’s why we removed him halfway through practice,” Shanahan said.
The 49ers will also be in the market for a street free agent punter heading into Saturday’s preseason opener in Tennessee with Mitch Wishnowsky missing recent practice sessions.
“He has knee irritation,” Shanahan said. “We’re taking it easy on him, not having him punt here for a little bit. We’ll have to figure out something for the game.”
Wide receiver Danny Gray practiced with a blue jersey that said “Do not touch” as he deals with a shoulder injury sustained in Sunday’s practice. Wide receiver Malik Turner was placed on injured reserve with an unknown issue, his roster spot filled by Breida’s addition.
Originally published at Jerry McDonald