Christian McCaffrey injury history: Complete timeline of 49ers star running back's major health setbacks – sportingnews.com

Teddy Ricketson
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Christian McCaffrey was drafted with the eighth overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. He was a highly touted prospect after playing his college ball at Stanford and was expected to provide a much-needed spark to the Carolina Panthers‘ offense. 
And he did. He played in 10 games as a rookie and finished with 435 yards and two touchdowns on the ground and added 651 yards and five more scores through the air. Then, in 2018, McCaffrey started all 16 games, accumulating 1,098 yards with seven touchdowns and 867 receiving yards with six touchdowns. He proved he was the real deal in 2019 when he finished with 1,387 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns, with 1,005 receiving yards and four scores through the air. 
It looked like McCaffrey was primed to become one of the league’s elite players, but then he suffered a significant injury in 2020 and played in only three games. After he battled back from injury in 2021, he suffered another injury and played in only seven games. 
This two-year stretch, where the running back played in only 10 out of a possible 33 games, caused him to go from being considered an elite NFL player to “injury prone.” 
Here is more on the history of McCaffrey’s injuries since entering the NFL.
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McCaffrey was supposedly healthy coming into the 2025 preseason, fully recovered from the injuries that plagued his 2024 campaign. Then, he was listed as limited at practice due to a calf injury. This worried fans because his 2024 Achilles tendon sprain was initially listed as a calf injury. Given the injury and its timing, fans were nervous that he might miss time to begin the 2025 season, but fortunately, McCaffrey was able to shake off the injury and not miss any time.
McCaffrey had missed eight games earlier in the year due to a calf injury that had eventually been diagnosed as an Achilles sprain. He came back toward the end of the 49ers’ 2024 season, but he had another injury. Against the Buffalo Bills, McCaffrey was running with the ball and was tackled awkwardly from behind. The way he stepped and then fell to the ground resulted in a PCL sprain that ended his season. 
Christian McCaffrey did in fact suffer his potentially season-ending PCL injury on this play — one play before he went down and then took himself out of the game. pic.twitter.com/iFbjkHiEhR
It was the gift that, unfortunately, kept on giving for McCaffrey in 2024. He picked up a calf injury in the preseason and was questionable for Week 1 against the New York Jets. McCaffrey was then a surprise inactive for the first game of the year, and then he was promptly added to injured reserve, which knocked him out of action for most of the season. He had said it wasn’t a concern for him in the preseason, and then his injury developed into Achilles tendonitis; reports eventually came out that he had it in both legs. The injury overall caused him to miss eight games. 
Christian McCaffrey said his calf/Achilles is “not a concern for me.” pic.twitter.com/UceeuWarxj
The Achilles tendonitis that Christian McCaffrey is suffering in his right leg is now in both legs, so there remains a major question on when he will return, according to @AdamSchefter. pic.twitter.com/6Z4ZBwOW6a
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In Week 17 of the 2023 season, McCaffrey picked up a mild calf strain. It caused him to miss the final game of the regular season, but San Francisco had already locked down the No. 1 seed for the playoffs, which earned a first-round bye, giving the running back plenty of time to heal for the playoffs. 
From @NFLTotalAccess: #49ers RB Christian McCaffrey has a mild calf strain. pic.twitter.com/DselUuuA5A
McCaffrey and the Panthers were taking on the Miami Dolphins. During the game, the running back rolled his left ankle, and it was ruled that he sprained it. It was a Grade 2 sprain, and it caused him to miss the remainder of the regular season. 
McCaffrey suffered the first injury of his 2021 campaign in a win over the Houston Texans. It was diagnosed as a Grade 2 hamstring strain and caused him to miss five games. 
From NFL Now: #Panthers star RB Christian McCaffrey (hamstring) is expected to miss a few weeks, while CB Jaycee Horn broke bones in his foot and is out 2-3 months. pic.twitter.com/VjO1AAqaen
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McCaffrey suffered this thigh strain ahead of the Panthers’ Week 14 game. Initially, it was thought that it was just a tight hamstring, but it ended up sidelining him for four games. 
Carolina was trying to pull off a late win over Kansas City in Week 9 of the 2020 season. On the final drive of the game, the running back was tackled, which caused him to suffer a shoulder sprain. Not only did the Panthers lose the game, but they lost McCaffrey for four weeks. It was his first game back since suffering a sprained ankle earlier in the season. 
McCaffrey and the Panthers were taking on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 2 of the 2020 season. Carolina came away with a loss, but during the game, the running back suffered a right high-ankle sprain. It caused him to miss six games. 
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Here’s a look at all of Christian McCaffrey’s injuries throughout his time in the NFL.
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Here’s a look at the 49ers’ record without their star running back. 
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Here’s a look at how the Panthers fared when McCaffrey was out of the lineup.
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Christian McCaffrey has missed 37 games in his career. He missed 23 games when he was with the Panthers, and 14 during his tenure with the 49ers. McCaffrey has been in the NFL for a total of 136 games, and so he has missed 27.2% of the possible games he could have played in. 
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Christian McCaffrey was born on June 7, 1996. He is 29 years old and approaching the ominous age of 30, when running back careers are thought of as nearing their end.
Teddy Ricketson is a Digital Content Producer at The Sporting News. He joined the team in 2024 after spending the last three years writing for Vox Media as part of its DK Nation/Network team. Teddy does his best to support the South Carolina Gamecocks and Carolina Panthers, but tends to have more fun cheering on the Atlanta Braves. In his free time, he loves spending time with his wife, Brooke, and their two dogs, Bo and Hootie.

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