RB injuries can be the toughest to navigate.

Kyle Shanahan taught us these situations can pop up right before a season opener. In other cases, the backups we stashed aren’t getting the workload we projected. Regardless, monitoring the RBs who had their seasons cut short will help us set expectations for our upcoming drafts.  

Running Backs Going Into The 2025 Season Recovering From Injuries

Christian McCaffrey, Knee

The 49ers’ RB started the year with Achilles’ tendinitis and a calf strain. He ended it with a partial tear of his PCL. When healthy, Christian McCaffrey posted top-8 marks in his share of the team’s carries and target rate. Beat reports indicated he’d have been active if the 49ers had made it to the playoffs. Nevertheless, he’s recovered from the knee injury and expects to participate in OTAs without Jordan Mason and Elijah Mitchell to back him up. 

Kenneth Walker, Ankle

Kenneth Walker’s high-ankle sprain held him out of the final two games of Seattle’s season. His recovery timeline has him on track for training camp. But his ailments weren’t limited to the ankle. Walker had an abdomen strain earlier in the season, forcing a two-game absence. A calf injury knocked him out as we were entering the fantasy playoffs. New OC Klint Kubiak used RBs as an extension of the passing game at each of his stops. It’s a skill set where Walker lags behind his immediate competition, making a healthy return all the more critical for Walker this summer.

Blake Corum, Forearm

Blake Corum fractured his forearm in Week 18 and missed the Rams’ postseason run. HC Sean McVay expects Corum back for offseason workouts and wants to get the rookie involved after a lackluster rookie campaign. It sounds like coachspeak at first. However, Kyren Williams has averaged nearly 19.0 attempts per game in consecutive seasons (with multiple fumbles in each). And, of the two rushers, Corum operated as the better pass-blocker, lending credence to the idea we’ll see more of the sophomore in 2025. Rookie Jarquez Hunter could be a factor in the backfield, as well.

MarShawn Lloyd, Hamstring

Hip. Ankle. Hamstring. Appendix.

That’s the list of areas MarShawn Lloyd spoke with the Packers’ team doctors about throughout his rookie season. Accordingly, Lloyd is working with the same specialist who’s helped Christian Watson through his hamstring issues. Josh Jacobs is coming off his third year with 300+ touches. Chris Brooks, one of the backups who played the RB2 role, is back on the practice squad. It leaves Lloyd with the chance to take a step forward and force a split with the Packers’ RB1. 

AJ Dillon, Neck

AJ Dillon sustained two neck stingers within an eight-month span. The severity caused Green Bay’s physicians to shut down Dillon before the start of the ’24 season. Since then, Dillon has seen specialists and gotten the all-clear to retake the field. He won’t dig into Saquon Barkley’s 11.0% target share in Philadelphia. But a short-yardage tote or two near the goal line would make Dillon an RB to keep on speed dial if you don’t invest a lot of early-round capital into the position.

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