49ers RB Christian McCaffrey practices in full after recovering from calf injury
Christian McCaffrey was a full participant at Tuesday's practice, and the San Francisco 49ers appear locked and loaded for their NFC divisional round game against the Green Bay Packers.
In Week 17, the 49ers running back sustained a mild right calf strain in San Francisco's win over the Washington Commanders. A week later, McCaffrey was held out of the 49ers' season finale against the Los Angeles Rams.
If the game had anything riding on it, McCaffrey said he would've played. But with the No. 1 seed locked up and nothing to play for, he sat out to give himself an extra week to recuperate. It was his first time missing a game with the 49ers since being dealt to San Francisco in October 2022.
"I have played through worse," McCaffrey said after leaving the Niners' Week 17 game against the Commanders. "It's just one of those things where right now the situation we're in, precaution is probably better. But I knew I was going to be good regardless of what the test said. So, it was more of a cautionary situation and being smart about it than doing something stupid."
Tuesday was the third time that San Francisco practiced since the regular season ended, and head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters ahead of the session that McCaffrey would be a full go. He missed the team's practices on Thursday and Friday.
"I think he's geared up and ready to go, the same way he was last year," Shanahan said. "Probably the same way he was in a playoff game when he was 5 years old, too, or a scrimmage. Christian is always the same. He's always waiting for that moment and he's been waiting for this moment for a while."
Even though he didn't play in the last contest, McCaffrey won the NFL's rushing crown — the first time doing so in his career — and finished tied for first in total touchdowns (21) . He ended the season with 1,459 rushing yards, which was 292 more than Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry.
