SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey did not practice Friday with a calf issue that popped up during Thursday's workout, but he once again made it clear that he believes he will be on the field Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks.
"I always plan to play," McCaffrey said. "I feel great about where I'm at. Unfortunately, when you have the injury history that I have, sometimes when you don't practice, things get blown out of proportion. But like I said, I feel great."
McCaffrey is officially listed as questionable for the opener in Seattle after he was a surprise addition to the injury report Thursday as a limited participant. During the early portion of Friday's practice open to the media, McCaffrey was in uniform and a helmet doing his usual stretching and warmup routine on the side with Mike Sola, the team's director of reconditioning, keeping an eye on him.
Although it's not unusual for McCaffrey to warm up on the side, he does usually join his fellow running backs when individual drills and install begins. He did not do that Friday as he continued to work on the side.
After the practice, Niners coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed that McCaffrey did not participate. Shanahan declined to go into detail about McCaffrey's injury but McCaffrey shed a little bit of light on the situation Friday, saying it was "nothing serious," though he did not, offer specifics.
"I'm not supposed to go into anything that happened but I felt like it was the smart thing to do to not finish the practice [Thursday]," McCaffrey said. "I've been there before, and I've been my own worst enemy in situations like that and I was proud of myself for not doing that again. Like I said, I went through a whole training camp. I feel great about where I'm at."
Indeed, McCaffrey's addition to the injury report comes after a promising offseason and training camp in which he had no apparent health issues. He appeared in just four games last season, missing the first eight because of tendinitis and then the final five after suffering a torn posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee against the Buffalo Bills in Week 13.
During camp, the Niners took care to protect McCaffrey, 29, giving him every third practice off, a similar plan for what they did with him in 2023. It seemed to work as he was the only running back who didn't miss time with an injury.
This week, McCaffrey was on the field for practice Monday and Wednesday, not even appearing on the initial injury report on Wednesday. But his addition came as a surprise Thursday as he also was not seen in the locker room after practice, nor did he do his usual Thursday media availability.
Asked Friday if he felt like he needed to be conservative in coming back from this calf issue given what happened last year, McCaffrey demurred.
"At the end of the day, if you can play, you play in the game," McCaffrey said. "It's as simple as that."
For the 49ers and McCaffrey, this situation is a bit of déjà vu from last year when he was also listed as questionable entering Week 1 because of a calf injury. At that time, McCaffrey was a limited participant in practices and insisted he would play against the New York Jets, saying a few days before that Monday night opener that he had no doubt that he would be ready to go and take his usual number of snaps.
As it turned out, however, McCaffrey did not play against the Jets and then landed on injured reserve the following week with bilateral Achilles tendinitis, a more serious injury than the initial calf tightness that had been described.
"I have forgotten about last year," McCaffrey said. "Forgotten about the year before that and the year before that. I'm focused on this week and playing Seattle on Sunday."
If McCaffrey is unable to play, the Niners will turn to Brian Robinson Jr., acquired in a trade from the Washington Commanders on Aug. 22, to start against the Seahawks. Upon arrival, Shanahan declared Robinson the No. 2 back behind McCaffrey.
Robinson has not had much time to practice with the Niners and said Friday that he has a long way to go to learn the playbook, but Shanahan offered a vote of confidence in him if he does have to take on a larger role this week.
"Brian knows the game plan," Shanahan said. "You don't have to know an entire offense. You need to know what the plan is this week. He's repped it so if that's the situation, we're good to go with it. He's ready for it and I know Isaac [Guerendo] will be also."
Guerendo and rookie Jordan James are the other two backs on the roster. James has also been limited in practice this week and is listed as doubtful on the injury report as he returns from a broken finger.
If McCaffrey and James can't play, the Niners could call running back Sincere McCormick up from the practice squad for additional depth in Seattle. But it would most likely be Robinson getting the bulk of the work.
"I've been a starter in this league, so with that being said, I know what it takes to prepare like a starter all the time, so nothing changed," Robinson said. "I prepare like I'm going to start every game regardless of Christian and him being the starter here. That's just how I've got to prepare. I have got to prepare like I'm ready to start at any given moment."