49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan had exactly the reaction you’d expect when General Manager John Lynch told him that the team had made a trade for running back Christian McCaffrey.
Shanahan said on KNBR Friday that he had “a big smile” upon hearing the news that McCaffrey would be joining the offense. Shanahan said that he then turned to thinking about redoing Sunday’s plans for third downs, red zone plays and more before realizing something else.
Shanahan said he realized that McCaffrey has to pass his physical and won’t practice with the team before they face the Chiefs, which means there’s a lot of uncertainty about what will happen on Sunday.
“I’m still up in the air whether we’re going to be able to get him here for Sunday or not,” Shanahan said, via 49ersWebzone.com. “I know for sure he’ll be here the following Sunday. But that’s kind of why I’m in a wait-and-see approach right now.”
One imagines that the 49ers will do what they can to make it feasible for McCaffrey to play some role on offense this weekend, but a final answer probably won’t come until Sunday’s game is underway.