The San Francisco 49ers may have to get creative to fix some of the holes on their roster left behind by injuries.
One spot they’ve yet to fill is the one vacated by running back Christian McCaffrey when he was placed on Injured Reserve. They may choose not to fill that spot with a running back, but given their depth problem at the position it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them look to improve the quality behind Jordan Mason.
While the free-agent market is always an option, the Athletic’s Matt Barrows offered an intriguing trade idea instead.
Barrows suggested in a mailbag following the 49ers’ Week 2 loss to the Vikings that San Francisco get in touch with the Miami Dolphins and old friend Mike McDaniel. Miami is dealing with another concussion for quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and placed him on IR.
Their rosters align well enough that a trade could help both teams.
Via Barrows:
I made this point on X last week, but the 49ers need a reliable running back, and the Miami Dolphins seem to need a quarterback. The Dolphins have an abundance of runners who are in the same offense as San Francisco’s, and the 49ers have two backup quarterbacks who are about equal in the eyes of Shanahan and who could quickly slide into Mike McDaniel’s attack.
Conclusion: Joshua Dobbs for Raheem Mostert. Or maybe Brandon Allen for Jeff Wilson Jr. Who says no?
While the 49ers may not want to part with one of their trio of QBs, there isn’t a better back available in the free agent market than either Mostert or Wilson.
San Francisco knows what both players provide its offense, and they’d be able to deploy them as quality backups to take some of the workload off of Mason. Last season Mostert made his first Pro Bowl and scored a whopping 21 touchdowns. It’s difficult to believe the Dolphins would be willing to give him up for a backup QB in a trade. He’s also dealing with a chest injury that isn’t considered major, but it did hold him out of Miami’s Week 2 matchup with the Bills.
Wilson may be more available, and his hard-nosed running style is a nice complement to Mason. Having a couple of battering rams to throw at defenses would make life extremely difficult for opponents late in games. Wilson has only five carries for the Dolphins so far this season, and he appears to be at least third and possible fourth on the depth chart when Miami’s backfield is fully healthy.
Adding either player would dramatically improve the 49ers’ backfield depth. It would also give San Francisco a player that head coach Kyle Shanahan trusts in his offense. This is absolutely a call the 49ers should be making if they haven’t already.
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