Christian McCaffrey, injured 49ers running back
All in all, the 49ers should have beaten the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. A Jake Moody missed field goal is all that put them into the L column for the first time this season. Getting hurt was no excuse, but certainly, the 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey injury is an area of special concern.
Injuries were the name of the game on Sunday in Cleveland. That starts with the oblique muscle that running back McCaffrey suffered. Things started well for McCaffrey, who kept his string of 15 straight games with a touchdown alive in the first quarter for San Francisco. But he wound up with 52 total yards of offense, his lowest total since Week 11 of last season.
McCaffrey originally got hurt in the third quarter and came off the field. The team designated him as “questionable” to return, and he did come back late in the third period, but after one play was ruled out early in the fourth quarter, with the 49ers up, 17-13.
…now Christian McCaffrey is headed to the locker room
What makes his situation worse is that coach Kyle Shanahan said after the game that McCaffrey’s injury is not just a matter of a hurting stomach muscle — there is a rib injury involved, too.
From ESPN 49ers reporter Nick Wagoner: “49ers HC Kyle Shanahan did not yet have an update on the severity of injuries to RB Christian McCaffrey and WR Deebo Samuel. Shanahan did say McCaffrey is dealing with an oblique AND rib injury.”
More Than Just the Christian McCaffrey Injury
There are other concerns beyond McCaffrey’s injury. Wide receiver Deebo Samuel suffered another shoulder injury early in the first quarter that kept him out for the game. One other major contributor went down, too — All Pro tackle Trent Williams — and the team was already without injured star linebacker Dre Greenlaw for the day.
For Samuel, there may be some good news. Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report noted after the game that Samuel is not going to be out long: “Source: #49ers WR Deebo Samuel’s shoulder X-ray came back negative. The next step is an MRI, but I’m told the team believes he ‘will be fine’ after getting injured today vs the #Browns. It’s not considered to be serious.”
Trent Williams Fought Through Pain
Williams did not come out of the game for long, but he fought through pretty severe pain to stay on the field. He is dealing with an ankle issue after getting rolled up on during a pass rush in the first quarter.
Williams was in a walking boot after the game, NBC Sports Bay Area reported, and said he did not come out because he did not want to leave the team in a bind going against fearsome Browns pass rusher Myles Garrett.
According to Dr. Nirav Pandya, an orthopedic surgeon who analyzes injuries for KNBR in San Francisco, the walking boot does not mean Williams will be out:
“A significant amount of swelling / pain can develop in the initial 24 hours after an ankle injury. The boot provides stability to the ankle while helping to limit symptoms that could be inhibitory to playing next week. Given his prior ankle injury, extra caution is a good.”