49ers pregame: Christian McCaffrey will play through calf issue against Seahawks
SEATTLE Christian McCaffrey insisted Thursday s calf issue was nothing serious and the ers agree to the point they ll play him in in the current era s season opener at Seattle Brian Robinson Jr and Isaac Guerendo are McCaffrey s backups Rookie Jordan James s finger injury placed him on the pregame inactive list McCaffrey came out of the ers locker room two hours before kickoff and did leg-activation exercises for chosen minutes He was then greeted by former Carolina Panthers teammate Greg Olsen who s working as a Fox Sports analyst this tournament He left Thursday s association drills because of a calf issue and after conditioning on the side in Friday s walk-through he insisted his calf was nothing serious A year ago however a calf strain evolved into bilateral Achilles tendinitis and kept him out the first eight games I feel great about where I m at McCaffrey mentioned Friday at his locker Unfortunately when you have an injury history that I have you know sometimes when you don t practice things get blown out of proportion but like I commented I feel great And he feels he must seize whatever openings the Seahawks defense offers It starts with taking care of the ball and just as runners if there is a lane you have to hit it They flow to the ball really well all guys do McCaffrey explained It s about maximizing the opportunities when they come take what they give you Related Articles A look at how NFL divisional and wild card races shape up for the season Purdy stays focused as expectations grow after ers-record contract Emerging down ers schedule A look at the Niners season from Week through Kurtenbach Purdy must take on mantle of the man for ers Luke Farrell relishes dirty work as ers new blocking tight end McCaffrey played only four games last season before a posterior cruciate ligament tear kept him out the final five games He ran for over yards in each of his past two trips to Seattle rushing for three touchdowns combined in those and victories MARTIN INACTIVE Rookie linebacker Nick Martin a third-round draft pick is inactive as are James wide receiver Jordan Watkins defensive end Robert Beal Jr defensive tackle Jordan Jefferson and offensive linemen Austen Pleasants and Drew Moss With Martin down the linebacker corps features Fred Warner Dee Winters Luke Gifford Tatum Bethune and Curtis Robinson the latter of whom was activated Saturday off the practice squad for his special-teams contributions SAFETY DEBUT Marques Sigle a fifth-round draft pick will become the first ers rookie safety to start an opener since Eric Reid in NBC Sports Bay Area s Matt Maiocco first published Sigle started all three preseason games alternating as a tandem with incumbent Ji Ayir Brown and newcomer Jason Pinnock YGM FAST-TRACKED Defensive lineman Yetur Gross-Matos is developing despite barely practicing essentially participating in limited sessions Monday and Thursday after coming off the Physically Unable to Perform list Aug SEAHAWKS INACTIVES Ruled out for the Seahawks wide receivers Jake Bobo and Dareke Young tight end Nick Kallerup and linebackers Uchenna Nwosu Jared Ivey and Connor O Toole
