How should the 49ers handle Christian McCaffrey’s injury before the bye week?

Christian McCaffrey has established himself as one of the most valuable players in the NFL this season. When the ball is in his hands, or McCaffrey is on the field, the 49ers offense has been as close to unstoppable as it gets.

When head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke Monday afternoon, the team hadn’t received McCaffrey’s imaging back from his MRI, so they were unsure whether CMC had an oblique or a rib injury. Shanahan had hoped that it was either or, not both.

Shanahan was asked if there was a way to protect McCaffrey from taking hits, in the same way the team did Brock Purdy last year when he suffered the same injury. Here’s Shanahan’s answer:

“Yeah, I mean it’s obviously a tougher position just because you get hit a lot more. But we’ve just got to see how it reacts. We’ve got to see exactly what’s wrong with it too because we haven’t got that back yet. So, we say oblique/rib, hopefully it’s not both, but we’ve got to wait to see for sure.”

Kyle mentioned four possible plays where McCaffrey could have sustained the injury, but said it was unclear on which specific play it happened.

While there’s plenty of reason for optimism surrounding McCaffrey’s injury, some fans believe the team should play it safe and give their star player a week off. It’s a long week for the 49ers, as they don’t play until Monday night. Shanahan mentioned how 8-day weeks in the NFL are unheard of.

The Niners play the Vikings next Monday night, then come back and play the Bengals the following Sunday at home, before getting a bye week. Should the team rest McCaffrey one of those two weeks? Both? Neither?

We’re talking about a critical piece to the offense. Jordan Mason and Elijah Mitchell are skilled enough for the 49ers to get past the Vikings. The Bengals are beginning to turn the corner, but they’re still struggling a bit, too.

What do you think the 49ers should do regarding McCaffrey’s playing time? Let us know in the comments.