Christian McCaffrey is dealing with an injury ahead of the San Francisco 49ers’ season-opening game against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, and the situation is one that sounds all too familiar to fans.
McCaffrey was listed as a limited participant in practice on Thursday due to a calf injury. There has been no indication that McCaffrey will sit out in Week 1, but the issue is an obvious concern given the star running back’s lengthy injury history.
McCaffrey dealt with Achilles tendonitis in both legs leading up to the 2024 season. The 49ers repeatedly downplayed the issue during the preseason, but McCaffrey sat out until Week 10. He then suffered a knee injury in his fourth game back.
Naturally, the first reaction many fans had to the news about McCaffrey’s calf issue was “here we go again.”
Every. Year. pic.twitter.com/XdH26TaZq4
— DraftKings (@DraftKings) September 4, 2025
Here we go!
— Bone Betz (@BoneBetz) September 5, 2025
100% the same thing as last season. Hard pass this time around!
Football is officially back now
— Jacoby (@JacobyFC) September 4, 2025
scheduled tweet
— Jay 🍀 (@TYLERNUBlN) September 4, 2025
Here we go…..
— Tony X (@soIoucity) September 4, 2025
There were also a lot of jokes about fantasy football managers who drafted McCaffrey in the first round and expect a bounce-back year from the three-time All-Pro.
CMC fantasy football managers. pic.twitter.com/OpxwLpD1lK
— Rotoworld Football (@rotoworld_fb) September 4, 2025
Bout to be a long fantasy season pic.twitter.com/khVSJTKeQv
— Jason Williams (@jasoneg33) September 4, 2025
CMC fantasy owners seeing this 😬 pic.twitter.com/g6QEFWTBDZ
— DraftKings Network (@DKNetwork) September 4, 2025
Raise your hand if you didn’t fall for CMC this year! pic.twitter.com/JAx0rSDTEv
— Eric Fischer (@BigEOnAirWI) September 5, 2025
The 49ers made a noteworthy trade recently for a running back who has been productive, which makes you wonder if they knew something was up with McCaffrey. Either way, fans are not going to feel at ease until they actually see CMC on the field.
McCaffrey, 29, was the NFL Offensive Player of the Year in his first full season with San Francisco in 2023. He rushed for 1,459 yards and 14 touchdowns that season while adding 564 receiving yards and 7 touchdown receptions. It remains to be seen if he can ever get healthy enough to become that player again.
