FANTASY FOOTBALL NEWS

Christian McCaffrey OUT Tonight

By Matt Schauf | Updated on Mon, Sep 9 2024 11:03 PM UTC

Niners RB Christian McCaffrey is inactive for tonight's game against the Jets. NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reports that McCaffrey tested his injured calf today and that "it didn't feel right and the 49ers wanted to err on the side of caution." That's been the message from McCaffrey and the team ever since the injury first showed up back in early August. That he's now missing a game more than a month later suggests the issue has always been more significant than they wanted us to believe.

2024 Fantasy Football Impact

The impact for Week 1 is obviously high, leaving Jordan Mason to likely lead the backfield against the Jets.

We'll see how soon McCaffrey can get back onto the field. We've watched a number of players deal with nagging calf issues in recent seasons.

Beyond Mason, the 49ers sport rookie Isaac Guerendo and former Packer Patrick Taylor Jr. at the position -- plus former Bucs RB Ke'Shawn Vaughn on the practice squad.

The San Francisco system makes any RB with a path to playing time worth a look at some fantasy level.

Other Winners & Losers

WR Deebo Samuel also figures to snag a few more carries as the 49ers make up for McCaffrey's absence. He could be in for a big Week 1, with San Francisco also expecting to play WR Brandon Aiyuk less than usual.

Matt Schauf, Editor

Matt has earned two Fantasy Pros accuracy awards for IDP rankings and won thousands of dollars as a player across best ball, dynasty, and high-stakes fantasy formats. He has been creating fantasy football content for more than 20 years, with work featured by Sporting News, Rotoworld, Athlon, Sirius XM, and others. He's been with Draft Sharks since 2011.