The San Francisco 49ers on Saturday officially announced the return of superstar running back and reigning Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey.
McCaffrey has been out the entire season while battling Achilles tendinitis. His recovery involved missing the first eight games, making a trip to Germany for treatment, and working out at the team facility during their Bye week to ramp up for a return to practice ahead of Week 10.
By getting through Monday’s bonus session and three normal days of practice without issue, McCaffrey put himself on track to return Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters during his post-practice press conference that the team anticipated making the move to bring him back on IR for the first game after their Bye week.
McCaffrey should help cure the biggest offensive ailment for the 49ers this season: scoring touchdowns.
While San Francisco has moved the ball efficiently without McCaffrey, they’ve had a hard time finding the end zone. The inability to turn red zone trips into touchdowns was a key reason they suffered a couple of their losses early in the year.
Last season McCaffrey led the NFL with 21 touchdowns from scrimmage. The 49ers also led the NFL with a 67.2 percent red zone conversion rate. This year that number has dipped to 42.9 percent, which is 26th in the league. If McCaffrey can help the 49ers get in the end zone more often, they should be able to make another second-half run and punch their ticket to the postseason for the fourth consecutive season.
The 49ers also announced veteran safety Tashaun Gipson would be elevated for Sunday’s game. He may be in the mix to start if rookie safety Malik Mustapha can’t play. The team officially listed him as questionable with a calf injury.
