Christian McCaffrey’s Comments Thicken Plot for Vikings Showdown
The number-one-with-a-bullet storyline for the Minnesota Vikings meeting with the San Francisco 49ers this weekend is Christian McCaffrey’s availability.
Christian McCaffrey’s Comments Thicken Plot for Vikings Showdown
McCaffrey said leading up to Week 1 that he planned to play Monday Night Football versus the New York Jets, but shortly before the kickoff, McCaffrey was ruled out. RB2 Jordan Mason filled in — marvelously.
Now, it’s the same situation. McCaffrey told reporters on Wednesday that he expects to play against the Vikings. However, 49ers fans and fantasy football managers will tread gingerly with the declaration. “My mentality is I’m playing this week,” McCaffrey told reporters in the 49ers’ locker room.
“I’m not lying. I think when a player says, ‘Maybe I will; Maybe I won’t’ — that’s not a good mentality to go into a week with,” he said.
That final sentence also probably explains what happened last week: listeners of McCaffrey’s assurances took his word to the bank while the team had other plans.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport also commented on McCaffrey’s status on Wednesday, “It feels to me, just taking stock of the situation, talking to people involved, that Christian McCaffrey is a long shot to play this week against the Minnesota Vikings.”
The aforementioned Mason channeled his inner McCaffrey instead Monday night, tearing up an otherwise wondrous Jets defense for 147 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan recently said about McCaffrey’s situation, “It’s not just the calf, it’s the Achilles, and the Achilles is tendinitis, and that stuff comes and goes. And when it is acting up, it’s something you’ve got to be very careful about. Christian is very diligent about that stuff. If it was a playoff game, he made it very clear to me he believed he could go.”
“But when you hear that type of stuff, and it’s not a playoff game, and it’s Week 1, especially when you’re dealing with the lower extremities like that, it was a tough decision, but hearing all the words and stuff, in the long run, it made it easy,” Shanahan added.
Right after the 49ers beat the Jets, tight end George Kittle declared on national television that McCaffrey would be ready for Vikings-49ers. But his words were more likely hopeful teammate camaraderie than injury-related fact.
The Vikings did a wonderful job stopping the run in Week 1 at the New York Giants, but that was against Devin Singletary, and he and McCaffrey are akin to Aaron Jones and Myles Gaskin per skill-set variance.
Even with McCaffrey’s status totally up in the air, according to sportsbooks, the 49ers are expected to defeat the Vikings by six points.
Vikings Re-Sign Promising Wide Receiver
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
You must be logged in to post a comment.