Injuries continue to mount around the NFL, and with Thanksgiving in the rearview mirror — and playoff berths already clinched — the push is on to get healthy for the stretch run. But a couple of teams that were thought to be among the playoff contenders at the start of the year have had their seasons derailed by trips to the trainer’s table.
The 49ers — who were already witout Trent Williams, Nick Bosa and Deommodore Lenoir — saw Christian McCaffrey leave their blowout Sunday night loss to Buffalo early after a non-contact injury that didn’t look good. He didn’t return, and now the fear is his season — which was already shortened because of Achilles tendonitis in both legs — may be over. Also, in Jacksonville, the Jaguars are bracing for more news about franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who took an ugly, illegal hit on Sunday which led to him being carted off the field and Azeez Al-Shaair being ejected.
Christian McCaffrey suffers PCL injury that could end his season
Christian McCaffrey’s 2024 season could be over almost as quickly as it started. He checked himself out of his team’s Sunday Night Football loss to the Bills — a game he was putting up big numbers in, with seven rushes for 53 yards in the early going — with what wound up being a PCL injury, according to head coach Kyle Shanahan. He added that the injury is “potentially” season-ending.
McCaffrey missed the first eight games of the season with tendonitis in both Achilles. All of the 49ers’ key skill guys on offense — Deebo Samuel, Jauan Jennings, Brandon Aiyuk (who is on IR), Brock Purdy, George Kittle and McCaffrey — have all missed time on the injured list this season, in addition to All-Pro tackle Trent Williams being out and missing key stars on defense right now. San Francisco will now need a minor miracle, at 5-7 and 1-3 in the NFC West, to sneak into the playoffs after appearing in the last three NFC Championship games.
Trevor Lawrence suffers concussion
The ugly hit on Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence is sure to be talked about at length this week, and the implications for Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair will come down from the league. But the 2-10 Jaguars — who were 9-8 last year and have underperformed expectations in 2024 — had to finish up without their franchise signal caller.
Lawrence, who is in the first year of a five-year, $275 million extension, didn’t return to the game after displaying the fencing response on the field after the hit — although after the game he did post on social media that he was feeling better and resting at home. With the Jags going nowhere fast this season and Doug Pederson’s job possibly in jeopardy, it’ll be worth monitoring if the Jaguars are cautious with Lawrence as the season winds down, with the club headed for the bottom of the AFC South and the top of the NFL Draft this spring.
