49ers' Christian McCaffrey: Trending to play Saturday

San Francisco general manager John Lynch said Wednesday that McCaffrey (back) is trending in the right direction to play Saturday against the Seahawks, Cam Inman of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

McCaffrey could not practice Tuesday due to back stiffness, leaving him two more opportunities to retake the practice field in advance of Saturday night's showdown against Seattle, the winner of which will clinch the NFC West title and the No. 1 playoff seed in the NFC. The 49ers may in part simply be taking a cautious approach to McCaffrey's health due to both his importance as the focal engine of the team's offense and the fact that he's handled 20-plus touches in five consecutive games. McCaffrey previously played through this back injury early December, but he hadn't been listed on San Francisco's injury reports in Week 16 and Week 17.