49ers RB Christian McCaffrey to miss Week 18 game vs. Rams with calf strain, expected back for playoffs

Christian McCaffrey will be out until the playoffs.

The San Francisco 49ers running back will miss their Week 18 game against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday due to a mild calf strain, coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed on Monday.

Instead, McCaffrey will get about three weeks to recover before the 49ers’ first playoff game. The team clinched the No. 1 seed in the NFC last week with their win over the Washington Commanders, and will now get a first round bye and home field advantage throughout the postseason.

The injury, Shanahan said, “could be a lot worse.”

McCaffrey left in the third quarter of Sunday’s 27-10 win over the Commanders with his calf strain, and did not return. He had 64 yards on 16 carries when he left, and had four receptions for 27 yards. He didn’t score a touchdown in the win, either, which marked just the third game this season where he did not score. McCaffrey has ran for a career-high 1,459 yards and has 21 total touchdowns this season, his seventh in the league.

The 49ers had little issue getting past Washington without him. Elijah Mitchell ran for a 2-yard score late in the third quarter to push San Francisco to a 10-point lead, and Brandon Aiyuk caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Brock Purdy midway through the fourth quarter to seal the 17-point win.

That win pushed the 49ers to 12-4 on the season. They officially clinched the No. 1 seed in the NFC with the win and the Philadelphia Eagles’ upset loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

While the timing of the injury isn’t great, there’s no real reason for McCaffrey to play on Sunday. The 49ers have already clinched everything they possibly can, so resting him makes sense. Assuming all goes well over the next three weeks, McCaffrey should be out on the field for the 49ers for their first playoff game.