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SANTA CLARA — Christian McCaffrey will continue his two-pronged assault on a 49ers’ playoff berth as well as his quest to become the first player in NFL history to have two separate seasons of 1,000 yards rushing and receiving.
McCaffrey was not among the 49ers (9-4) listed as inactive Sunday before their game against the Tennessee Titans (2-11) at Levi’s Stadium.
Listed as inactive for the 49ers were wide receiver Jordan Watkins, running back Jordan James, linebacker Nick Martin, linebacker Tatum Bethune, defensive lineman Sebastian Valdez, defensive lineman Sam Okuayinonu and defensive lineman Jordan Elliott. Elliott was a late addition ot the injury report with a knee issue.
During the week of practice, McCaffrey took his usual day off on Wednesday, part of the 49ers’ plan to keep him as healthy as possible through the season. He was limited on Wednesday and was listed as having an illness.
McCaffrey participated in the Friday walkthrough, which is a low-paced practice, and then the 49ers announced Saturday he was added to the injury list as questionable with a back injury.
Entering Week 15, McCaffrey had 849 yards rushing (on 237 carries) and 806 (85 receptions), leaving him 151 yards shy of 1,000 in rushing and 194 receiving.
Missing the Tennessee game would have meant McCaffrey would need 50.3 yards rushing and 64.7 receiving against Indianapolis, Chicago and Seattle to make him the first player to have two 1,000-1,000 seasons.
Roger Craig, a senior finalist for the Hall of Fame Class of 2026, was the first to do it in 1985 (1,005 rushing, 1,016 receiving) and was joined by Faulk(1,381 rushing,1,048 receiving) in 1999. Marshall Faulk was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011.
Both Craig and Faulk reached 1,000 yards in 16-game seasons.
McCaffrey also leads the 49ers in touchdowns with 13 (eight rushing, five receiving) and in first downs with 41.
In 2019, his third season in the NFL, McCaffrey rushed for 1,387 yards and caught passes for 1,005 more in a 16-game season.
McCaffrey has 322 touches, just 17 shy of the 339 he had in 2023 with the 49ers when he was named the NFL Offensive Player of the Year. His career high is 403 with Carolina in the 1,000-1,000 season in 2019.
Listed as inactive for Tennessee are cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis, safety Jerrick Reed, tackle John Ojukwu, guard Drew Moss, tackle Dan Moore Sr, and defensive tackle Shy Tuttle.
Big night for Brent Jones
Tight end Brent Jones was the subject of a Saturday night event for being named to the 49ers Hall of Fame and had a pregame press conference with the media in which he tried to put his feelings in perspective.
We had a spectacular time last night. The most exciting thing for me was the legends that showed up. It was pretty special. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“There were plenty of guys there,” Jones said. “Not even time to talk to everybody, a quick handshake. It was like being at a wedding where you know every person there. There were teammates there I hadn’t seen for 25 or 30 years.”
Jones recounted catching the last touchdown pass of Joe Montana’s career with the 49ers and 10 years rooming with an anxiety-ridden Steve Young at Young’s request. He saw his statue, which will go in the 49ers’ museum, for the first time.
It’s pure, its intense, I think it was a touchdown against the Saints, energized and firing the ball and spiking it as hard as I can,” Jones said. “You can feel the emotion in the statue.”
Originally drafted and released by Pittsburgh in the fifth round of the 1986 draft out of Santa Clara, Jones was injured in an auto accident and was released during rehab. He joined the 49ers and learned quickly he was the eighth tight end on the depth chart.
Jones wasn’t sure where he stood until he went to the cafeteria in Rocklin with some teammates and coach Bill Walsh entered. As Walsh walked past, he said, “Hey Brent, keep up the good work.”
Jones immediately called his wife and parents to inform them, “Bill Walsh knows my name!”
Word came of his induction came in May when he looked at his phone and saw owner Jed York was calling.
Said York: I’d like to speak to the next member of the 49ers Hall of Fame.”
Jones’ reaction?
“It buckled me,” Jones said. “Usually I’m prepared with a quip or something. There was probably three or four minutes where I stumbled around. I was trying to grasp it.”
In 11 seasons with the 49ers, Jones caught 417 passes for 5,159 yards and 33 touchdowns.
