The San Francisco 49ers have placed star running back Christian McCaffrey on the team’s injured reserve. He is out with calf soreness and Achilles tendinitis. He was unavailable for the team’s season opener against the New York Jets and will continue to be out for the coming weeks.

This comes a day after head coach Kyle Shanahan acknowledged the possibility of placing Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve. The San Francisco 49ers have not revealed much regarding the running back’s status since they announced he will be out for the team’s season debut.

As per Adam Schefter of ESPN, Christian McCaffrey is expected to be out for at least the next four games. The team will give him time to recover and will assess his condition to explore the possibility of a return in mid-October. The loss of McCaffrey will be felt by the 49ers offense.

With Christian McCaffrey out, Jordan Mason will be the RB1 of the 49ers for the next 4 weeks

With Christian McCaffrey out, the 49ers will face the Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots, and the Arizona Cardinals without their star running back. The team can manage to win the next few games without McCaffrey as they have the necessary talent across the board.

Besides, the real challenge for the 49ers lies in week 7 when they take on the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs. That would be a game wherein they will hope to have Christian McCaffrey back on the field. The loss of McCaffrey albeit unfortunate has opened up an opportunity for running back Jordan Mason.

In week 1, Mason was exceptional, he had 147 yards and 1 touchdown as he spearheaded the 49ers offense. This was against the New York Jets defense. The 49ers did not miss McCaffrey in their season debut owing to Mason’s heroics. Now that CMC is out for the next 4 games, it is a golden chance for Jordan Mason to shine and prove that he can consistently perform at a high level.