The Madden curse was seemingly out in full force this year as San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey was a surprise scratch from Week 1 and has since gone on to miss half of the season. But head coach Kyle Shanahan just revealed that McCaffrey has finally healed up and is ready to return to the field.
On Thursday, Shanahan announced that McCaffrey will make his season debut this coming Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It will mark his first game since Super Bowl LVIII, when he had 80 rushing yards and 80 receiving yards plus a receiving touchdown in the 25-23 overtime loss.
"News: #49ers RB Christian McCaffrey is set to make his season debut Sunday vs the #Bucs, per head coach Kyle Shanahan," NFL Anderson wrote on X.
The 2023 season saw McCaffrey lead the NFL in rushing yards, touches, yards from scrimmage and total touchdowns. He earned Pro Bowl and First-Team All-Pro honors while winning the Offensive Player of the Year award and finished third in the MVP voting.
Over seven seasons, McCaffrey has consistently been one of the league's best running backs when healthy. He has over 10,000 yards from scrimmage in 91 career games and has been even better in the 27 games he's played for the 49ers.
McCaffrey has 2,205 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns in 27 games for San Francisco, but 3,233 yards from scrimmage and 31 total touchdowns for the team since being traded from the Carolina Panthers in 2022.
The 49ers are currently 4-4 on the season - right in the thick of an extremely competitive NFC West title race, and well within reach of the playoffs.
If McCaffrey is back at full health, the 49ers could be extremely dangerous for the rest of the season.
Will McCaffrey look like his old self on Sunday, or will there be some rust?
Related: 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey Has New Injury Timeline