San Francisco 49ers running backs Christian McCaffrey and Isaac Guerendo had good news on their late-season injuries, and both appear to be on track to be ready for the start of the 2025 season. That doesn’t make the pending decision on Jordan Mason any easier this offseason.
Mason, a 2022 undrafted rookie for San Francisco, is due to hit restricted free agency when the new league year opens.
That means the 49ers can either give him one of three restricted free agent tenders, or choose to not tender him which would allow him to become an unrestricted free agent.
The latter of those two options is likely off the table. San Francisco isn’t going to let Mason walk for nothing after his breakout 2024 campaign when he racked up a career-high 789 yards in 12 games. Which tender they give him will be a more difficult decision.
McCaffrey will be back as the No. 1 RB next season. Guerendo acquitted himself well late in the year when McCaffrey and Mason were both out, but he also dealt with a slew of injury issues when he did finally get regular touches. It stands to reason the 49ers would want to keep Mason since they know he can be highly productive in their offense.
A first-round tender would cost the 49ers an estimated $7,279,000 for the 2025 season according to Over the Cap. The second-round tender is estimated at $5,217,000 for 2025. The right of first refusal tender is estimated at $3,185,000.
Those are all fully-guaranteed one-year deals.
Mason would have the option to find a deal on the open market after receiving a tender, but the 49ers would be able to match any offer he got. If they do a first or second-round tender, the acquiring team would also owe the 49ers a pick in that round of the 2025 draft.
Chances are a second-round tender would be enough to keep other teams from aiming for Mason in free agency. He’s a good player, but unloading a second-round pick to give a long-term contract to a former undrafted rookie RB who dealt with a couple different injuries the prior year isn’t something modern NFL front offices would likely be eager to do.
A second-round tender would make Mason the 18th highest paid RB in the NFL on an average annual value basis. A first-round tender would make him the 14th highest paid RB in the sport. Both of those marks are significant for a player who could enter the season as San Francisco’s No. 3 RB.
The question for the 49ers is whether keeping Mason at $5.217 million or more fits their current financial situation. They could go the route of the right of first refusal tender to make his salary more palatable (27th in AAV among RBs), but it would also make it easier for another team to jump in with a multi-year deal.
Given their need for quality RB depth during Shanahan’s tenure it would seem like retaining Mason should be a priority. The right of first refusal tender appears to make the most sense financially. That also makes it easiest for an RB-needy team to pounce with a long-term contract that puts the 49ers in a bind.
San Francisco could use a first or second-round tender to try and keep teams away, but that also comes with steeper financial ramifications.
The 49ers may have higher priorities than their offensive backfield this offseason, but how they handle Mason could be one of their trickier maneuvers.
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