San Francisco 49ers All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey will be out of practice for about two weeks after suffering a calf injury.
McCaffrey injured his calf late last week, but added that it was not a muscle strain, coach Kyle Shanahan said Tuesday. McCaffrey will not play in the preseason but will return to practice well before the regular season begins Sept. 9, he said.
McCaffrey has helped transform San Francisco’s offense since being acquired in a trade from Carolina midway through the 2022 season. In 27 games with the Niners, McCaffrey has run for 2,205 yards and 20 touchdowns and caught 119 passes for 1,028 yards and 11 scores.
He led the NFL with 2,023 yards rushing from scrimmage last season, tied for first in the league with 21 touchdowns and won AP Offensive Player of the Year honors.
The Niners also will be without backup running back Elijah Mitchell for about a week due to an injury.
That led San Francisco to sign veteran Matt Breida to add depth to the backfield ahead of its exhibition game-opening Saturday night at Tennessee.
(Related: Brandon Aiyuk, Patriots, Browns 49ers trade talks heat up)
Breida spent his first three seasons in the NFL with San Francisco, rushing for 1,902 yards and six TDs in 43 games from 2017-19. Breida led San Francisco in rushing with 814 yards in 2018 and averaged 5.0 yards per carry over those three seasons.
He was traded to Miami in 2020, spent a year in Buffalo, and has spent the past two seasons with the New York Giants.
“We had to get Matt, and it was awesome to have Matt available,” Shanahan said. “We needed numbers there, and I think we were fortunate to be able to get a legitimate player who had a tremendous track record.”
San Francisco is already without fourth-round rookie back Isaac Guerendo, who suffered a hamstring injury early in camp. Jordan Mason, undrafted rookies Cody Schrader and Patrick Taylor are also likely to play this week.
Associated Press reports.
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