Who will carry load for 49ers?
The Dolphins’ top two running backs Sunday at Levi’s Stadium will be ex-49ers. And the San Francisco 49ers’ top two running backs will be … spectators?
On Wednesday, two days after head coach Kyle Shanahan announced that running back Elijah Mitchell would miss the rest of the regular season with a knee injury, Shanahan was vague about the status of his starter, Christian McCaffrey, for the matchup with Miami.
McCaffrey didn’t practice Wednesday after he didn’t finish a 13-0 win over the Saints on Sunday because of “knee irritation” that Shanahan said developed during the game.
McCaffrey went to the locker room before halftime because of his knee issue, which presumably had an impact on his performance: He had 32 yards and averaged 2.9 yards a carry, the fifth time in 47 career games that McCaffrey averaged less than 3 yards per carry when he had at least 10 attempts.
Will McCaffrey be unable to play against the Dolphins?
“It’s keeping him from (practicing) today,” Shanahan said, “so I hope not.”
McCaffrey’s injury has created uncertainty in the 49ers’ backfield, and comments made by Miami running back Raheem Mostert have created pre-kickoff drama.
Mostert, who spent parts of the previous six seasons with the 49ers, and Miami running
back Jeff Wilson, who was traded from the 49ers on Nov. 1, will face a defense that’s ranked first in the NFL in total yards and rushing yards allowed per game.
Mostert is undaunted. In a recent article on golongtd.com, he predicted he and Wilson would “go crazy” against the 49ers in Sunday’s homecoming.
Defensive end Charles Omenihu noticed. On Monday, Omenihu tweeted, “Someone thinking they gone run crazy on our defense is funny.”
Mostert missed 24 of 33 games in his final two seasons with the 49ers and his injury history is a reason he wasn’t re-signed in the offseason. Meanwhile, the 49ers’ mid-October trade for McCaffrey is a reason Wilson was deemed expendable.
The 49ers dealt Wilson for a fifth-round pick because of the presence of McCaffrey and Mitchell, although they play a punishing position and had extensive medical files before their recent knee injuries. Mitchell will have missed 18 of 33 career games in his first two seasons. McCaffrey missed 23 of 33 games from 2020 through ’21.
Wilson would have provided premium insurance had he stayed in Santa Clara. He ranks 14th in the NFL among running backs in rushing yards (677) and is seventh among backs with at least 100 attempts in yards per carry (5.2).
Wilson has told Miamiarea reporters that he requested a trade from the 49ers after they dealt for McCaffrey. However, it’s unlikely Wilson, an immensely popular figure known for his angry running and sunny disposition, would have created locker-room turbulence if his request hadn’t been granted.
“Jeff Wilson’s one of the best teammates I’ve ever had,” right tackle Mike McGlinchey said Wednesday. “So to lose him obviously hurt. But it is what it is. It’s the way this business works.”
Without Wilson, the 49ers likely will turn to a backfield-by-committee approach if McCaffrey is sidelined Sunday.
Their two healthy running backs on the 53-man roster are undrafted rookie Jordan Mason and rookie Ty Davis-Price, a thirdround pick. It’s possible Tevin Coleman, 29, an eight-year veteran who will be promoted from the practice squad before Sunday’s game, would receive the most work if McCaffrey doesn’t play because he’s in his fifth season in Shanahan’s system.
The rookies’ inexperience at least partly explains their sparse playing time this season. DavisPrice has 16 carries for 37 yards in three games. Mason had five carries in the first 10 games before knee injuries to Mitchell and McCaffrey last Sunday forced him into action.
Mason had five carries against the Saints, four of them for 25 yards after the 49ers took possession with 6:18 left and — thanks in part to Mason — ran out the clock by picking up four first downs in that game-ending possession.
“I’d like to not put that pressure on him,” Shanahan said. “I’d like to keep our vets out there holding onto the ball, but our guys were a little banged up. So we put Mason in and we’re glad we did.”