The 49ers headed into the 2024 regular season without their star running back Christian McCaffrey and it was disheartening. What wasn’t disheartening, though, was Jordan Mason’s performance. Though he’s a good running back, CMC is just on another level. On that note, if McCaffrey stays out, can the Niners still come out triumphant?

Arguably, the initial few games of the regular season decide whether a team will make it to the playoffs or not. While the 49ers have an impenetrable roster, McCaffrey’s absence due to calf/Achilles complications has left a hole in the Niners team that needs to be plugged. But still, for some reason, Rob Gronkowski thinks that the Niners can clinch the division without CMC.

This episode of Up & Adams with Kay Adams posed burning questions looming around CMCs absence. “Are we undervaluing Christian McCaffrey?” Adams asked Gronkowski and pointed out the common narrative that people will downplay CMC because the team will still succeed with Kyle Shanahan’s “genius” play calling. Gronk’s answer to that question was that CMC is a “special player” and his career with the Panthers and the Niners had been nothing but stellar. I

n a sense, he’s definitely not an undervalued player. Adams then asked the Pats legend whether the 49ers can clinch the division without McCaffrey and the answer didn’t disappoint. “Who was that running back they just put in his place? He went out there and showed that he definitely belongs, so that was good to see. Kyle Shanahan knows how to use his guys, knows how to use his weapons from the bottom of the roster to the top, and that’s what makes a great coach great. Like I said, they have the best roster in all of football. One guy goes down, and you’ve got 10 other guys ready to step up,” Gronk answered.

To start things off, Jordan Mason had his career-best game against the New York Jets as the former Georgia Tech RB rushed for 147 yards and scored one touchdown. His explosiveness showed that he can be a rotational starter in the 49ers roster without a doubt. The 49ers had a total of 180 rushing yards and 147 of them came from Mason and the rest from Deebo Samuel and Brock Purdy and those plays led to the 49ers’ 32-19 triumph over Rodgers-led Jets.

But as Gronk said, there’s always a next-man-up policy in play and to replace McCaffrey, players like Jordan Mason, Isaac Guerendo, and Patrick Taylor Jr. are there. Not to mention that Deebo Samuel can also play running back if it is required. But coming back to McCaffrey, he was a limited participant in the practices leading up to the game due to his calf injury and Achilles tendinitis. Those were some recurring injuries McCaffrey has been dealing with. The 49ers informed the fans just 90 minutes before the kickoff and the cloud of uncertainty darkened.

The bizarre twists and turns of the Christian McCaffrey saga

Well, having injuries and not participating in a game is fine. But in a world where millions of dollars are at stake, it’s important for a team of 49ers’ reputation to keep the fans apprised of this massive change in the roster. That too, way ahead of time. Check out what Shanahan had to say about McCaffrey’s injury scare.

“You know, it’s not just a calf. It’s his Achilles and, you know, the Achilles has tendinitis, and that stuff comes and goes,” Shanahan said. “And when it’s acting up, it’s something you have to be very careful about. Christian’s pretty diligent about that stuff.” He then pointed out how CMC could have played the game had playoff-level stakes.

Apparently, Jordan Mason was told on Friday that he would start in lieu of McCaffrey and he accidentally revealed it to the media and caused a stir. Now people are questioning Shanahan, who refuted Mason’s story. And here’s what the 49ers HC claims to have told Jordan Mason.

“I never told Jordan he was going to start,” Shanahan told reporters. “Told him he had to be ready a bunch. But it might have been [running backs coach] Bobby [Turner] or somebody trying to pump him up. But I knew he was going to have to play a lot. Told him that it wasn’t going to be like usual.”

While people are sold on the sentiment that the Niners should be probed for their unprofessionalism, there’s no word from the NFL that they will begin any kind of investigation anytime soon. What are your thoughts on McCaffrey’s condition? Let us know in the comments below.