49ers’ Christian McCaffrey headlines 5 key additions for teams chasing playoffs

Out since the start of the regular season with Achilles tendinitis, reigning Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey finally returned to practice with the San Francisco 49ers this week.

The team activated McCaffrey’s three-week practice window, with the hope that he can take the field on Sunday on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Along with the 49ers, several other teams are looking to get frontline players back so they can make a postseason push. Puka Nacua recently returned for the Rams. Other big names set to return in the second half include Micah Parsons, Nico Collins and Isiah Pacheco.

We examine what the return of those players could mean for their respective teams as they chase postseason hopes.

Christian McCaffrey, RB, 49ers

Shanahan is keeping his fingers crossed that McCaffrey can make it through practice healthy and get back on the field this weekend. But whenever he returns, he’ll most likely be eased back into the full workload he had as the best running back in the league last year.

“We’ll build him up slowly,” head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters. “Things have been going well. It will be nice to get him back hopefully.”

After McCaffrey joined San Francisco in a midseason blockbuster trade in October 2022, he missed just one out of 33 games, including postseason, and that game was a meaningless contest at the end of the 2023 season. Before that, McCaffrey dealt with a series of injuries, missing a combined 23 games in the 2020 and 2021 seasons for the Carolina Panthers.

The 49ers signed the 28-year-old McCaffrey to a two-year, $38 million contract extension this offseason, making him the highest-paid running back in the league. McCaffrey had the most scrimmage yards in the league from the time he joined San Francisco through the end of the 2023 season.

Tom Brady previews 49ers vs. Buccaneers

Jordan Mason has done an admirable job of filling in for McCaffrey. He’s No. 4 in the NFL in rushing with 685 yards. However, Mason has not been a weapon as a pass-catcher out of the backfield like McCaffrey is. Mason has just 10 catches for 85 yards.

The 49ers really miss McCaffrey in the red zone, as San Francisco is No. 28 in red-zone offense this season. In 2023, the 49ers were No. 1, and McCaffrey led the league in total red-zone touchdowns with 18.

One last stat: Brock Purdy led the NFL with a 113.0 passer rating with McCaffrey last season. The QB’s passer rating this season without McCaffrey is 93.7. The return of McCaffrey should add another dimension to an already good offense, along with taking pressure off Purdy to carry the load.

Puka Nacua, WR, Rams

The second-year pro suffered a sprained posterior cruciate ligament during training camp and aggravated the injury in a Week 1 contest against the Lions.

After missing six games, Nacua returned to the lineup in Week 8 against the Vikings, finishing with 106 receiving yards in a 30-20 win. Last Sunday, Nacua was ejected near the end of the first half for throwing a punch at Seahawks safety Coby Bryant in a dust-up after an interception by Tariq Woolen.

“He’ll learn from it,” Rams head coach Sean McVay said about the incident. “He is exactly the right kind of guy and this is a learning opportunity. We all make mistakes.”

The Rams still managed to defeat Seattle in overtime with Nacua watching from the locker room. After a rough start, the Rams have won three straight and, at 4-4, appear to be hitting their stride heading into the second half of the season.

Los Angeles made a similar run last year, winning seven of its last eight games to reach the playoffs. Nacua was a huge part of that, setting the league record for rookie receptions (105) and receiving yards (1,486). Having him back in the lineup will only make Matthew Stafford and L.A.’s offense more dangerous.  

Nico Collins, WR, Texans

C.J. Stroud & Co. are scuffling without the team’s No. 1 receiver, along with Stefon Diggs, who’s out for the season with a torn right ACL. Losers of two of their past three games, the Texans are averaging just 19 points a contest over that stretch. 

Last month, Houston placed Collins on IR with a hamstring injury. At the time, he led the league with 567 receiving yards. He has missed four games and is eligible to return for Sunday’s game against the Lions. According to reports, Collins hasn’t had any setbacks and has regained his speed, but he did not practice on Wednesday. 

At 6-3 and leading the AFC North by two games, the Texans can afford to take a cautious approach with Collins. Houston head coach DeMeco Ryans could give the receiver an extra week and have him return for a Monday night road contest against Dallas in Week 11. 

Micah Parsons, LB, Cowboys

Speaking of the Cowboys, they appear in full free-fall after losing three straight games and quarterback Dak Prescott being placed on the injured list with a hamstring injury.

At 3-5, Dallas is on the outside looking in when it comes to the postseason. But the return of Parsons this week could serve as a spark for an ailing defense. 

Parsons has been out since Week 4 with a high-ankle sprain, the first time he’s missed games due to injury in his four-year NFL career. The Cowboys have lost three of the four games with Parsons out, giving up an average of 31 points a game and allowing opposing quarterbacks to have a league-high 126.1 passer rating.

No, Parsons can’t replace the league’s highest-paid player in Prescott, but his return should improve a defense struggling to keep teams out of the end zone and help get the Cowboys back on the winning side. Parsons was a limited participant in practice on Wednesday.

Isiah Pacheco, RB, Chiefs 

Kansas City is 8-0 and in position to be the No. 1 seed in the AFC. The Chiefs added another veteran playmaker in DeAndre Hopkins, and the return of Kareem Hunt has added physicality to the team’s running game.

And Kansas City has the most clutch player in the league in Patrick Mahomes. Do the Chiefs really need anything else to reach the Super Bowl for a third straight year?

To be honest, probably not. The Chiefs are surgical on offense and have one of the stingiest defenses in the league, led by coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. But Kansas City hasn’t exactly been blowing teams out. The Chiefs’ average margin of victory this season is seven points.

The return of an explosive running back like Pacheco, who suffered a broken leg in Week 2 and is targeting a return later this month, could add a home-run element to the running game. The Chiefs have 14 runs of 10-plus yards this season. Pacheco had 19 runs of 10-plus yards during the regular season last year, and a league-leading eight during the postseason. 

He could be the missing explosive element to Kansas City’s running game. 

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.

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