49ers star RB Christian McCaffrey returns to practice

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey returned to practice, marking the most significant step in his recovery from Achilles tendonitis.

The Niners officially opened McCaffrey's 21-day practice window Monday afternoon, meaning he has three weeks to prove he's ready to be placed on the 53-man roster from injured reserve.

In fact, McCaffrey was on the practice field warming up with his teammates during a roughly two-minute media-open period. For his teammates, McCaffrey's return was a welcome sight. One noted that McCaffrey's fresh legs allowed him to move faster compared to everyone else during a team exercise.

“It's an incredible feeling to see 2-3 out there doing his extensive warmup and a million squats that he does before practice,” said left tackle Trent Williams. “It was great to see him.”

While McCaffrey and the 49ers will have time to see how he performs in practice before putting him back in any games, there is optimism within the team that he will be available on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as long as he's good this week running.

For much of the past few weeks, the Niners have hinted at McCaffrey's possible return this week as he continues to work through tendinitis that kept him out of the team's first eight games.

Before San Francisco went into the bye last week, coach Kyle Shanahan again suggested that McCaffrey would begin practice on Monday as long as there were no setbacks in his simulated practice last week.

“As long as everything goes well, hopefully we can get him back to practice next week,” Shanahan said on Oct. 28.

McCaffrey was originally placed on injured reserve on September 14 after battling tendonitis and a calf injury that began to hamper him in early August. While McCaffrey recovered from his calf problem, the Achilles tendonitis persisted and eventually led to McCaffrey traveling to Germany to meet with a specialist while the 49ers were in Los Angeles to play the Rams on September 22.

While backup Jordan Mason has done well in McCaffrey's place – Mason is third in the league in rushing yards per game (85.6) and sixth in yards per carry among running backs (5.1) – the Niners have struggled to create drives finish in the red zone. They rank 28th in the NFL in red zone touchdown rate and score on 48.6% of drives inside the opponent's 20.

McCaffrey scored a total of 21 touchdowns in 2023 on his way to being named Offensive Player of the Year.

“(They) could probably put him in any offense, that will make them better,” Williams said. “Obviously our offense is kind of tailored to him and some of his strengths, so it will definitely be a huge improvement for us.”

Shanahan indicated last week that McCaffrey's workload when he returns will also depend on how he looks in practice.

“The expectation is to see how he does when he comes back and then evaluate him when he leaves,” Shanahan said last week. “Of course the hope is that everything goes back to normal and is perfect. That's what we all strive for, but you have to implement it wisely and evaluate it every day. What we do.” See with your own eyes what he tells us. We are constantly working on this.

The 49ers also opened the practice window for offensive lineman Jon Feliciano on Monday. Feliciano missed the first half of the season with a knee injury. Receiver Jauan Jennings (hip) and kicker Jake Moody (sprained right ankle) were also back on the practice field Monday, and Williams held out hope that linebacker Dre Greenlaw could have his practice window open soon as he continues to recover from a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered in the Super Bowl February.

“Definitely very happy for (McCaffrey) that the turnaround came and he was able to go back out there and do what he loved,” Williams said. “I even caught a glimpse of Greenlaw sprinting around out there with a helmet on. Just the sight of them got us going.”