What's wrong with Christian McCaffrey?

As the San Francisco 49ers gear up for another preseason game with the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday night, they undoubtedly have bigger fish to fry.

First and foremost at the moment is the ongoing status of superstar running back Christian McCaffrey. The tailback is currently dealing with undisclosed tightness and has missed a week of practice and running heading into Thursday night's exhibition, where he will obviously not play. Head coach Kyle Shanahan had to clarify that McCaffrey's status has nothing to do with dissatisfaction with his current contract, especially after recent monster extensions for Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs.

So, what's the deal? When might McCaffrey actually come back to the 49ers?

For what it's worth, a return seems imminent. Why do I say that? Shanahan maintained that McCaffrey likely would've already practiced earlier this week if the 49ers weren't engaging in joint practices with the Chargers. But because those joint practices with other teams are so physical, the 49ers elected to remain cautious rather than unnecessarily push their arguably best player.

49ers HC Kyle Shanahan said RB Christian McCaffrey, who has missed some time due to muscle tightness, would have practiced Tuesday if it weren’t a joint practice vs. the Chargers. 49ers also have no reason to believe that McCaffrey’s missed practice time is contract related. pic.twitter.com/iqCQmiLAqf

That timeline seems promising! After playing in just four games in 2024, McCaffrey came back and played in all 17 games last season for the 49ers. San Francisco is undoubtedly hoping his 2026 output resembles his 2025, not his disappointing 2024.

Kaelon Black is currently listed as McCaffrey's backup on the 49ers' depth chart at the time of this writing. Black is a rookie who was drafted out of Indiana in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: What's wrong with Christian McCaffrey?