San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey is expected to make his season debut Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, head coach Kyle Shanahan said Thursday on KNBR's "Tolbert & Copes" show.
"He's been awesome these last two days," Shanahan said. "Hopefully, that continues to go well. I expect to get him out there."
McCaffrey has missed San Francisco's first eight games of the regular season with an Achilles injury. The 49ers made him a surprise inactive for Week 1 before placing him on the injured reserve ahead of their Week 2 matchup.
The reigning Offensive Player of the Year returned to practice earlier this week, opening a 21-day window to activate him off IR.
Jordan Mason has carried the workload admirably in McCaffrey's absence, rushing for 685 yards and averaging 5.1 yards per carry.
McCaffrey compiled a league-high 1,459 rushing yards and 2,023 yards from scrimmage last year. His 21 total touchdowns also led the NFL.
