SAN Francisco 49ers fans received some bad news on Tuesday ahead of the team’s preseason games.
49ers running back Christian McCaffrey has a calf strain and is unlikely to participate in the preseason, coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters.
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“He did it a few days ago,” Shanahan said.
“It’s okay, he didn’t pull or anything, but you probably won’t see him in preseason.”
The team will begin its first preseason game on Saturday against the Tennessee Titans.
Fans flooded ESPN’s NFL Insider Adam Schefter Instagram post who revealed the news and claimed that the star was hit by the “Madden curse”.
“Madden Curse in full effect,” raged one fan.
“The Madden curse has already begun,” complained a second.
“Madden said watch this,” joked a third, adding an eye emoji.
“49ers going 8-9 now because of the Madden curse,” said a fourth.
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“The curse of the Madden cover,” said a fifth fan.
This comes after it was announced on June 11 that McCaffrey would be the cover athlete for the popular football video game Madden 25.
NFL fans believe the “Madden curse” began in 2007 when Seattle Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander was put on the cover of the game.
Alexander already led the league in rushing in 2005 with 1,880 yards and accumulated 27 touchdowns, winning the MVP award.
Once on the cover, Alexander broke his leg and never made the Pro Bowl again.
But the curse became more of a speculation after Alexander’s fall from grace.
Important NFL Dates
August 1 – Hall of Fame Game – Houston Texans vs. Chicago Bears
August 8th – start of pre-season
August 27 – Deadline for 53-player rosters
September 1st – Last day of pre-season
September 5th – season opener – Baltimore Ravens x Kansas City Chiefs
November 5th – Negotiation deadline
January 5th – Week 18 of the regular season
January 11th – start of playoffs
February 9 – Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, Louisiana
Tennesee Titans quarterback Vince Young was named Madden 2008 cover athlete and missed just one game all season due to injury.
Then in 2009, quarterback Brett Favre was named a cover star after retiring.
But he returned during the season and suffered an injury that raised speculation again.
In recent years, few stars have fallen into the “Madden curse”.
Tom Brady has had two Madden covers in 2018 and 2022 and has remained healthy in both seasons.
Patrick Mahomes received two covers as the new face of the league in 2020 and 2022, but he suffered an injury in one of those two years, which sparked speculation.
While many may believe the “Madden curse” has struck McCaffrey, history says he will likely be back and ready to go.
McCaffrey also battled a calf strain last season, but called it “very minor.”
Meanwhile, the 49ers signed running back Matt Breida before the team’s practice on Tuesday due to a lack of healthy options on the roster.
Rookie running back Isaac Guerendo and backup Elijah Mitchell are dealing with hamstring strains.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
