Tim Ryan
The San Francisco 49ers disrupted the entire NFL world Thursday night when they traded for star running back Christian McCaffrey in exchange for a slew of draft picks.
The good news for 49er fans was that none of the picks sent Carolina’s way were first-rounders. The truly great news, however, was knowing head coach Kyle Shanahan had just obtained a shiny new toy with an endless skill set that he will most certainly use in an abundance of ways. There’s little doubt the 49ers’ head honcho had already begun scribbling down multiple schemes and drawing up plays with great enthusiasm well into the wee hours of the morning in anticipation of McCaffrey’s arrival.
In addition to the understandable excitement over obtaining a game-changing, player like McCaffrey, one of the most immediate and obvious first questions was, “so will he play this Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs?”
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Since we are talking about Shanahan and the 49ers here, no answer ever really seems to be a cemented response. A healthy dose of vagueness always seems to be thrown into the mix on a regular basis, seemingly to keep everyone on their collective toes.
Christian McCaffrey could make San Francisco 49ers debut Sunday
Nonetheless, we do have something thanks to an exclusive interview “Shanny” did Friday morning on KNBR’s “Murph & Mac” show.
While Shanahan predictably left things up in the air just enough to keep the Kansas City Chiefs coaching staff sleeping with one eye open and possibly shivering, according to the head coach it is very possible McCaffrey will suit up and play on Sunday. With the caveat that it would most likely play in a limited capacity.
This is completely fair given the fact the Niners’ latest prize will have less than 48 hours to forage through the playbook. But who’s to say McCaffrey won’t just keep playing if the all-world running back busts open a few plays early on in the game serving as Jimmy Garappolo’s safety valve? If he racks up the “YAC” on a few simple dump-offs, there would be little to no reason in limiting his action. We’re talking about a player who is healthy and has already racked up 670 yards and three touchdowns in just six games.
While we won’t know for sure until Sunday afternoon in San Francisco, what we do know is Shanahan will be ready to let it all fly with McCaffrey in Week 8 against the despised Los Angeles Rams.
