Christian McCaffrey is ‘questionable’ for Week 1, and the 49ers aren’t tipping their hand

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Christian McCaffrey is officially listed as questionable for Sunday’s season opener.

If the 49ers’ intention is to confuse the hell out of the Seattle Seahawks (and fantasy football owners worldwide) ahead of this game, they’re doing an admirable job.

Let’s run through everything that’s happened since McCaffrey left Thursday’s practice early with what the 49ers listed as a calf injury.

• McCaffrey was back on the practice field and looking like his usual spry self during warmups Friday.

• But McCaffrey, according to the team’s official practice report, didn’t actually practice — even though he was wearing a helmet and participated in the greeting scrum. Players who don’t practice usually don’t do either of those things.

• After practice, coach Kyle Shanahan was as dodgy as ever when asked about McCaffrey’s status for Sunday’s game.

“He’s questionable,” Shanahan said before pausing several seconds. “Questionable concern. I’m not going to say anything about Christian, guys.”

• Speaking at his locker a few minutes later, McCaffrey himself said he was preparing to play Sunday.

“Nothing serious, I could tell you that,” 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.”

Let’s make this clear: Obfuscation is the 49ers’ best friend entering this showdown in Seattle. Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald, a defensive guru, would certainly like to know if he should be gearing his run blitzes for McCaffrey or for backup Brian Robinson Jr. — and Shanahan is in no mood to tip his hand.

But it seems that McCaffrey’s status is different than his struggles at this point last year, when a severe flareup of Achilles tendinitis surprised the 49ers before the opener and ultimately landed the star on injured reserve.

On the Friday before the 2024 season began, McCaffrey told reporters he expected to play in the season-opener against the New York Jets, but that was after he missed a month of practices due to a calf and Achilles injury.

During training camp this year, McCaffrey was healthy and made a point of managing his workload to stay fresh for the regular season.

Upon finally returning to lineup in Week 10 of last season, McCaffrey spoke of the tremendous physical pain he dealt with during that bout. He showed no signs of pain Friday as he went through his usual warmup routine without issue.

So what exactly happened at Thursday’s session? McCaffrey refused to share details but emphasized that his calf issue isn’t serious.

“I felt like it was the smart thing to do to not finish the practice, because I’ve been there before, and I’ve been my own worst enemy in situations like that,” McCaffrey said. “I was proud of myself for not doing that again. I went through a whole training camp and feel great about where I’m at.”

The 49ers traded for Robinson with the Washington Commanders toward the end of last month. He’s started 37 games over his three-year career and, even if McCaffrey is good to go on Sunday, should boost Shanahan’s offense — especially with his power in short-yardage situations.

“When you have somebody like him come in, he’s a force multiplier,” McCaffrey said of Robinson. “He makes everybody better. It’s been fun having him here.”

Said Robinson on Friday: “I’ve been a starter in this league, so I know what it takes to prepare as a starter all the time. So nothing changes. I come here and prepare like I’m going to start every game. I’ve got to prepare like I’m ready to start at any given moment.”

Aside from Robinson, Isaac Guerendo is healthy and ready to go for Sunday, while Shanahan said rookie fifth-round draft choice Jordan James (broken finger) will be listed as doubtful.

Shanahan said that if needed, the 49ers could elevate practice squad running back Sincere McCormick to the active roster.