Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

In 2023, the San Francisco 49ers had the best red zone offense in the NFL. They are currently near the bottom at 27th, scoring a touchdown on just 48.6 percent of their trips inside the 20-yard line. But soon they will get help in returning the star Christian McCaffrey We are returning to crime.

Head Coach Kyle Shanahan told Greg Papa on the latest episode of “49ers Game PlanHe said on NBC Sports Bay Area that the team was excited to have McCaffrey back. “He looked good,” Shanahan said. “Yeah, we’re excited to have him back. It must have been a good thing he went here. We have to be smart about it. “We’ll find out exactly what the plan is as the game progresses, but I know we’re excited to get it back.”

The 2023 NFL Offensive Player of the Year missed all eight games this season due to Achilles tendinitis. While the 49ers look set to activate last season’s NFL offensive champion for Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the team expects to be cautious with him.

“We’ll see where Christian goes,” Shanahan added. “You’re not sitting there and sharing everything just to do it. You’re shutting out the people who give you the best chance to win every game, and Christian is a little bit different because he does a lot of extra things.” I run the ball.”

RB in McCaffrey’s absence Jordan Mason He had a good performance, rushing for 685 yards and three touchdowns. And rookie RB Mason starts dealing with his own (shoulder) injury Isaac Guerendo Two weeks ago against the Dallas Cowboys, Guerendo had his best game, rushing for 85 yards and a touchdown. The rookie has rushed for 227 yards on 37 carries so far this season (6.1 yards per carry).

“But not having him, giving these guys that much playing time is a good thing,” Shanahan said. “JP has been in and out over the last few years but he’s never been able to carry an entire game. To be able to carry us… he’s gotten better every week. He’s shown everybody that he can really do that. And then Isaac, we loved his talent, but you’ve got to get into those games, you’ve got to get reps… “He has shown some promising things, there are some things he needs to improve on and there are things we push him hard in training.”

Still, Shanahan is happy to have his best offensive weapon back on the field. When asked if getting McCaffrey back would solve the 49ers’ offensive problems, namely their red zone issues, Shanahan believes it would help.

“I’m not saying, ‘Fix them,’ but it definitely helps,” Shanahan told his father. “There is nothing in football that I believe one man can solve; 11 people connected, many things going in different directions. But when you have a player like Christian, he helps a lot.

“We’re way behind in the red zone right now. We’re good on third down, we’d like to do better. But the red zone was tough and adding a player like Christian definitely doesn’t help.” It didn’t hurt.”

The 49ers are aiming to win back-to-back games for the first time this season. Sunday’s win will improve his record to 5-4.

Watch the full interview below: