Patriots Catch Huge Break With Latest Christian McCaffrey Report

The New England Patriots have their focus on Week 2, but they'll have one less thing to worry about when Week 4 arrives.

Christian McCaffrey missed the 49ers' season-opener against the New York Jets due to a calf and Achilles injury. San Francisco ruled out the star running back for this Sunday, and Kyle Shanahan admitted the team mulled the idea of putting him on injured reserve.

That was made official Saturday, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The 28-year-old will miss the next four games before the Niners decide mid-October what to do with him. That means the Patriots won't have to game plan for McCaffrey when they travel to Levi's Stadium in Week 4. McCaffrey had only missed one game since the 2022 season before his late inactive in Week 1.

New England will still have to deal with Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle. And even Jordan Mason showed in Week 1 that he can replace McCaffrey's production with his 147-yard, one-touchdown performance against the Jets. The other running backs on the San Francisco roster are Patrick Taylor Jr. and Isaac Guerendo along with Ke'Shawn Vaughn on the practice squad.

However, before that matchup, the Patriots have their eyes set on the Seattle Seahawks this Sunday at Gillette Stadium.