San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch said star running back Christian McCaffrey continues to make progress but there is still no timeline for his season debut.
McCaffrey, the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year, is dealing with Achilles tendinitis in both legs and has been on injured reserve since Sept. 14.
“No new updates other than he’s doing incredibly well,” Lynch told KNBR on Friday morning. “It’s all about the ramp up, increasing the activity, making sure that there’s no setbacks. I could just tell people he’s on a good track with that. No timelines or anything, but he’s doing a little bit more — not each day. We kind of stagger it, work hard one day, kind of go into more of a (regeneration) day the next day.
“But when you can start to stack those and not have setbacks, that’s a good thing, and that’s kind of the direction he’s trending in.”
Earlier reports indicated that McCaffrey, 28, would not be ready to return until late November or early December.
A three-time Pro Bowl selection and two-time first-team All-Pro, McCaffrey led the NFL with 1,459 rushing yards and 2,023 yards from scrimmage last season. He has four 1,000-yard rushing seasons and two 100-catch campaigns in 91 games (84 starts) for the Carolina Panthers (2017-22) and 49ers.
In his absence, Jordan Mason leads the 49ers (3-3) and ranks second in the NFL with 609 rushing yards through six games (five starts).