Christian McCaffrey pens emotional note as injury ends 49ers RB's troubled season

Christian McCaffrey received the heartbreaking news that his injury is season-ending. He shared his reaction after the season-ending setback.

On Wednesday, the San Francisco 49ers star running back was ruled out of the rest of 2024 after hurting his knee during Sunday's lopsided loss at the Buffalo Bills.

He wrote on Instagram:

"Football is the greatest game on the planet to me... It lifts you up and breaks you down and it can happen fast. It’s humbling in the best ways. You can do everything right and still fail.

"This wasn’t my year; and sometimes when it rains, it pours. You can feel sorry for yourself and listen to the birds, or you can hold the line. I’m grateful for the support of everyone in my corner and promise I’ll work smarter and harder than ever to come back better from this."

Head coach Kyle Shanahan, however, has not ruled out a postseason return for the reigning Offensive Player of the Year, should the 49ers somehow make it that far:

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McCaffrey will end 2024 having started just four games. His 50 carries for 202 rushing yards and 15 receptions for 146 receiving yards are all career lows, and he will not have scored a touchdown for the first time in his career.

In addition, the 49ers are currently on a three-game slide (including the loss at the Bills) and two games below .500, last in the NFC West - a steep decline from when they reached the Super Bowl almost ten months ago.

With Christian McCaffrey out, 49ers turning to youth movement at RB

It cannot be understated how important Christian McCaffrey has been to the 49ers' offense. Besides his dominant rushing ability, he has also proven himself a receiving threat, adding to the dynamicity of Kyle Shanahan's offense that has also had wideouts Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings, and Ricky Pearsall; tight end George Kittle; and even fullback Kyle Juszczyk.

But with him (as well as third-year backup Jordan Mason) gone, the team is turning to youngsters to lead the ground game. First is fourth-round rookie Issac Guerendo, who has seen increased usage lately. Shanahan said of such an expanded role:

"He got off to a late start with injuries in preseason. I thought he finished those games well, especially that kick return versus the Raiders. Did some decent things when he started out, didn't get a lot of carries, had some ups and downs but got better. And then when he got the bulk of the carries, he only got better. So I think he's ready for this."

The other is Israel Abanikanda, who was claimed off the New York Jets' waivers on Tuesday. Shanahan said he had been liking the fifth-round sophomore ever since college, when he broke out in his final season at Pittsburgh:

"I haven't studied him a ton in the NFL, but he was a guy that I had good notes on from college and liked. And I know our scouting department thought he was the best guy out there. So, in our situation, (we're) especially glad to get him here."

Abanikanda could make his team debut as early as this coming Sunday against the Chicago Bears. Kickoff is at 4:25 PM ET.