Kyle Shanahan, 49ers coach
Remember back before the start of the NFL season when ESPN insider Dan Graziano reported that coach Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers were planning to rein in the touches they give Christian McCaffrey to avoid overusing him? How has that worked out, exactly?
The 49ers are prepared to take on Minnesota on Monday night, with McCaffrey expected to play despite an oblique injury, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
But concerns are cropping up about how much McCaffrey is playing and how much he is being used, given the fact that he will be counted on to carry the offense later in the year, when the stakes are raised and the weather gets cold. After McCaffrey injured the muscle in the Week 6 loss against Cleveland, wouldn’t an extra week of rest do him well?
Veteran Bay Area columnist Bob Padecky put it best this week, in a sort of warning to Shanahan. “The truth: the 49ers can’t win without McCaffrey. Shanahan is risking the season by overusing him,” Padecky wrote.
Numbers Show 49ers’ Kyle Shanahan Overusing Christian McCaffrey
McCaffrey is third in the NFL with 22.2 touches per game. He has 110 rushing attempts to his credit, and has gone for a league-best 553 yards on the ground. McCaffrey led the league in touches in 2019, when he had 403 in total. He is on pace now for 377 touches this season, which would be the second-most of his NFL career.
Shanahan said this week that he was not much bothered by those numbers. In fact, he described himself as “happy” about McCaffrey’s usage.
“I mean, we treat him as our starting running back,” Shanahan responded, per NFL.com. “So, I don’t really think of how many touches we want to get somebody in a year, that’s week-to-week and how the game goes. But he gets a lot more extra because he gets thrown to so much in the passing game. I’m happy with how he’s being used.
“I’m happy with how he’s been playing, and we’ll see how the rest of the year goes.”
McCaffrey, too, seems to have no issue with the usage he is getting, which is not surprising from a player’s standpoint.
Per Eric Branch of Chronicle, McCaffrey was asked if he was concerned about re-injuring the oblique muscle. “I feel great,” he said. He was asked, too, if he was worried that it was only Week 7. “I still feel great,” he said.
Does #49ers RB Christian McCaffrey fear exacerbating his oblique injury if he plays Monday?
“I feel great.”
Does he have to consider it’s only Week 7 when determining if he should play?
“I still feel great.”
Niners Wanted ‘To Avoid Overloading Him’
Just before the start of the season, Graziano reported that the 49ers were headed in the opposite direction with McCaffrey.
“San Francisco will still take McCaffrey off the field more than Carolina did and use Elijah Mitchell and/or Tyrion Davis-Price in spots, because the Niners know McCaffrey’s injury history and want to avoid overloading him. But the efficiency he should be able to attain in a full season in Kyle Shanahan’s system could be enough to propel McCaffrey to new career-best numbers.”
His numbers have been excellent, of course. And using him a bit less now to keep McCaffrey healthy and productive in December and January makes a lot of sense. Still, McCaffrey will be on the field and Shanahan will keep feeding him the ball, keep using him. Maybe overusing him.
Could that risk the season? Let’s hope not.