Niners forward Christian McCaffrey (Achilles) is targeting a November return after receiving treatment in Germany

CMC recently returned from Germany where he received treatment for his nagging Achilles tendon injury. Rapoport reported that McCaffrey received treatment similar to a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection. The 49ers RB could run on hard ground again this week, Rapoport added.

The fact that McCaffrey isn't expected to be sidelined for the duration of the season due to his Achilles tendon injury, which is the case with players with torn Achilles tendons, is a good sign, but not ideal for a San Francisco team that's off to a 1-2 start without its star ball carrier .

In CMC's place, Jordan Mason had a mini-breakout and should expect to receive a lot of touches from the 49ers in the future. Mason leads the league with 67 carries through three weeks and has already set a career-high 324 rushing yards. The only other running back who has seen carries for the Niners this season is Isaac Guerendo, who has rushed for a meager 19 yards on six totes.

Mason and San Francisco will try to get through Sunday afternoon, again without CMC, against the Patriots at 4:05 p.m. ET.