Will Christian McCaffrey play against play against the New York Jets on Monday Night Football? Injury status

The San Francisco 49ers will have to wait until Monday evening to begin their 2024 NFL season. The 49ers will take part in the first Monday Night Football of the new season, taking on the New York Jets.

After missing most of the team’s training camp due to injury, running back Christian McCaffrey has been a doubt for the 49ers heading into their season opener. McCaffrey was recovering from a calf and Achilles injury but returned to practice on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, McCaffrey insisted that he expects to play as normal for the 49ers. McCaffrey, nicknamed CMC, typically takes a lot of playing minutes for the 49ers and will be a key player again this year.

Who is on the 49ers’ injury report?

As of Friday, September 6 McCaffrey is one of four names on San Francisco’s injury list, all of whom are listed as ‘questionable’ for Monday’s game against the Jets.

Safety Talanoa Hufanga is rated questionable with a knee issue but did take part in practice in a limited fashion on Friday. Likewise, running back Isaac Guerendo and wide receiver Jauan Jennings were each limited in practice could still be in contention for the season opener.

Monday’s game has an extra dimension with Jets head coach Robert Saleh returning to his former team. Saleh was a defensive coordinator from 2017 to 2020, having been a part of the first wave of hires when 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan took charge in 2017.

The upcoming 49ers – Jets clash will be the first time that the two will meet in a regular season game, a real test for Saleh as he comes up against his former boss.