The San Francisco 49ers have a tough situation on their hands.

San Francisco kicked off the 2024 National Football League season with a win against the New York Jets. While that was great, star running back Christian McCaffrey was ruled out due to a calf/Achilles injury.

McCaffrey is dealing with Achilles tendinitis, which will sideline him through at least Week 5, as the 49ers placed their star on injured reserve ahead of Sunday's game against the Vikings.

As a result, McCaffrey must sit out the next four weeks. He cannot return until San Francisco's Oct. 10 game against the Seahawks in Seattle at the earliest.

Before placing McCaffrey on IR, 49ers general manager John Lynch spoke about the possibility with KNBR's Brian Murphy and Markus Boucher.

"If that's the right thing, it's what we'll do," Lynch said. "First of all, we'll see how he's doing today after a good session yesterday. All options, as Kyle has said are on the table. We'll do what's right for Christian and what's right for our team."

San Francisco shouldn't put him on the field until he is 100 percent ready to go. It is a long season and the 49ers are going to need the star back to make a deep run in the playoffs.

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