Tag: Jordan Mason

49ers breakout offensive star quickly became an afterthought

Don’t expect Jordan Mason to be involved more in the offense any time soon.

The San Francisco 49ers appear to be falling into a pattern where they’re leaving good players on the sideline since running back Christian McCaffrey returned.

In McCaffrey’s absence, RB Jordan Mason posted 685 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns on 134 carries. Over that eight-game stretch he averaged 5.11 yards per rush, which is tied for the seventh-best mark in the NFL. He ran for more than 100 yards thrice, and the only time he ran for fewer than 58 yards was the Week 8 game vs. the Dallas Cowboys where he exited with an injury after only six carries.

Now that McCaffrey has returned, Mason has reverted to being an offensive afterthought. In the two games with McCaffrey in the lineup Mason has played only five snaps and received three carries for 18 yards.

It appeared through eight weeks that Mason had proven to be enough of a weapon that the 49ers could lean on him more once McCaffrey returned. Mason could not only spell McCaffrey to help manage his Achilles injury, but he could offer some explosive play potential with a different running style than the starter.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan doesn’t appear to be planning on adding more to Mason’s workload any time soon.

“Yeah, I like all those guys playing,” Shanahan said. “But it depends on the situation, depends how many times you’re getting the ball, it depends on the drives, it depends if we’re going to put two backs out there. When you do two backs, then you’ve got to take either a big off or another receiver. But I’m not always thinking of how to get Christian off.”

There’s potential for Shanahan to operate with McCaffrey and Mason (or rookie fourth-round pick Isaac Guerendo) on the field together, and he acknowledged as much in Wednesday’s press conference. However, he didn’t sound eager to make that personnel grouping part of the offense.

Instead we’ll likely see more of what we saw a season ago. When McCaffrey is healthy, he’s going to be on the field and the 49ers are going to rely on him to be their go-to playmaker. That appears to be the case no matter what kind of wrinkle another RB on the sideline might be able to add to the offense.

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Will Jordan Mason play this week? Injury updates for 49ers RB

49ers RB Jordan Mason is dealing with a shoulder injury. Here are the latest updates.

The San Francisco 49ers aren’t out of the woods yet with injuries in their offensive backfield.

RB Christian McCaffrey is expected to return in Week 10 when the 49ers take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but they may not have his backup Jordan Mason.

Mason was a breakout star for the 49ers offense while McCaffrey was out, racking up 685 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns on 134 carries. He injured his shoulder in the first half of the 49ers’ Week 6 matchup with the Seattle Seahawks and didn’t return to the game. Then he made it through Week 7 before re-aggravating the injury in Week 8 and missing the entire second half again.

Here’s the latest on Mason heading into Week 10:

Jordan Mason injury update

It looked like Mason was on track to play after being listed as a full participant in Wednesday’s practice. Thursday was a different story though with Mason being given a ‘limited participation’ designation, putting his status for Week 10 in doubt.

How long will Jordan Mason be out?

There’s no clear timeline for Mason to return from his AC joint sprain. He got through Week 7 without any issue, and he may still play in Week 10. It doesn’t appear as though the injury is serious enough for him to miss significant time. With McCaffrey returning, the team may opt to give Mason another week to fully heal. There’s no indicator he’s in danger of a long-term absence though.

49ers RB depth chart

McCaffrey will be atop the depth chart, and Mason figures to get some work spelling him as the reigning Offensive Player of the Year returns from Achilles tendinitis. If Mason can’t go, rookie RB Isaac Guerendo would be the next man up, followed by RB Patrick Taylor. Guerendo had his best game as a pro in Week 8, running 14 times for 85 yards and his first-career touchdown.

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49ers injury update has some bad news for breakout star RB

Jordan Mason was a full go in Wednesday’s practice, but that wasn’t the case Thursday:

The San Francisco 49ers didn’t have many changes on their Thursday’ practice participation report.

It’s not a huge surprise that Thursday didn’t feature many differences from Wednesday since generally players limited to start the week will remain limited. Eight players were limited in Wednesday’s practice.

More noteworthy things on a practice report during the week are setbacks or players going the other direction toward less participation. San Francisco had a couple of those on Thursday’s participation report with running back Jordan Mason and safety Malik Mustapha showing up as limited participants after full practices Wednesday.

Mason is dealing with a shoulder injury he suffered in Week 6. He was listed as a full participant on Wednesday. Mustapha wasn’t on the report which indicates his calf injury happened at some point during the week.

It’ll be worth monitoring both closely Friday to see if their participation progresses.

Here’s Thursday’s report:

Did not participate

WR Chris Conley (hamstring)
DT Kevin Givens (groin)
CB Charvarius Ward (not injury related – personal matter)

This trio is trending toward not playing in Sunday’s game.

Limited participation

DE Nick Bosa (hip)
OL Jon Feliciano (knee)
DL Yetur Gross-Matos (knee)
WR Jauan Jennings (hip)
RB Jordan Mason (shoulder)
RB Christian McCaffrey (Achilles)
K Jake Moody (ankle)
S Malik Mustapha (calf)
WR Deebo Samuel (rib, oblique)
P Mitch Wishnowsky (back)

Mustapha and Mason showing up here is a little alarming. That the rest of the group, specifically Bosa, McCaffrey, Jennings and Samuel, didn’t have any setbacks is a good sign for their availability Sunday.

Full participation

LT Trent Williams
QB Brandon Allen (finger)
CB Renardo Green (ankle)
LB Dee Winters (concussion)

Good news for the 49ers that neither Green nor Winters suffered a setback.

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49ers injury updates from Kyle Shanahan heading into Bye week

Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel and Jordan Mason headline a laundry list of injury updates from Kyle Shanahan on Monday.

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke with reporters on a conference call Monday and provided some injury updates for the team heading into their Week 9 Bye.

Shanahan said wide receiver Deebo Samuel is considered day-to-day with a rib injury and an oblique strain. It’s unclear what his status would be if the 49ers had a game in Week 9, but having a week off to get right should be helpful for the 49ers’ former All-Pro WR.

Samuel had a good game Sunday night against the Dallas Cowboys before exiting with what the team classified as a rib injury. He had four catches for 71 yards and four carries for 15 yards. He also had a 66-yard touchdown catch wiped out because of a penalty. Samuel will be re-evaluated after the Bye.

Running back Jordan Mason also left Sunday’s game early after re-injuring the shoulder he hurt in Week 6. Shanahan on Sunday night told reporters Mason might have been able to re-enter the game, but they stuck with rookie Isaac Guerendo who was having a strong performance.

Mason will also be re-evaluated after the Bye week.

It stands to reason the 49ers won’t need him to shoulder as much of the workload after the Bye with Christian McCaffrey expected to return. However, if his shoulder isn’t right, we could see Guerendo take over the RB2 carries while Mason heals.

Rookie cornerback Renardo Green, who was the 49ers’ highest-graded defensive player by Pro Football Focus on Sunday night, hurt his ankle late in the game. Shanahan said he’s day-to-day, which is a good sign that he’ll be okay after the week off.

Second-year linebacker Dee Winters has also been diagnosed with a concussion and is in the concussion protocol. He took a pair of hard hits to the head while making a special teams tackle Sunday night.

Meanwhile, the receiving corps took another hit. Veteran WR Chris Conley is dealing with a hamstring injury and is considered week-to-week.

Some good news on that front though: Shanahan said the team is expecting Jauan Jennings to return after the Bye from a hip injury that cost him Weeks 7 and 8. Jennings is third on the 49ers in receiving yards and second in receiving touchdowns despite missing their last two contests.

Shanahan also reiterated the plan is for McCaffrey’s practice window Monday after the Bye in hopes of getting him a bonus practice that day and a full week of practice to ramp up for their Week 10 game in Tampa Bay. McCaffrey will go through a simulated week of practice over the Bye to ensure he’s ready to return to action for the first time this season.

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49ers offense gets boost from unlikely source vs. Cowboys

Shoutout to Isaac Guerendo.

The San Francisco 49ers’ offense was stuck in a little bit of a rut Sunday night against the Dallas Cowboys, but an unlikely hero helped them turn it around.

In the first half of a 30-24 win over the Cowboys, the 49ers scored only six points. Their run game in particular struggled with running back Jordan Mason churning out only 18 yards on six carries in the first quarter and change.

A shoulder injury wound up forcing Mason into the locker room before halftime, opening the door for rookie fourth-round pick Isaac Guerendo. He entered the game with just 23 carries on the season, including only one in Week 7 against the Chiefs.

Sunday wasn’t the first time Guerendo got an opportunity for extended playing time, but it was certainly his best outing. He rushed for 85 yards on 14 carries and scored his first-career touchdown. He also got to 85 yards with a long run of just 19.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters after the game that the improvement for Guerendo has been clear.

“I think he’s learned from each run he’s gotten,” Shanahan said. “There are a couple runs earlier in the year that he did alright on, but we grade him pretty hard, everybody pretty hard. And he had a couple, like four-yard runs we thought he could have got seven yards on. We go pretty hard on him. And then you watch how he takes that to practice and everything we’ve really kind of been pushing him with, he’s been real coachable, he’s not a sensitive guy, he’s real detailed and he’s very poised for a rookie. Things aren’t too big for him and didn’t get a lot of preseason, but once he got healthy there and throughout this year, I feel he’s gotten better each week.”

Guerendo also played a big role in the 49ers’ Week 6 win over the Seattle Seahawks, but he struggled to find running room in that game before a 76-yard run late in the fourth quarter helped the 49ers seal the victory. He finished the game with 10 carries for 99 yards.

He was more consistent Sunday night with runs of 19 and 15 yards on his first two touches. He flashed his speed and his power, and in general looked more patient in waiting for running lanes to develop.

Shanahan also said Guerendo was running well enough that they didn’t even try to put Mason back in the game after he came out for the second half with his helmet on — a sign he was ready to go.

Guerendo rewarded the 49ers’ faith in him by going for 47 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries in the second half. He also contributed as a pass catcher, hauling in three of his four targets for 17 yards.

The talent has always been apparent with Guerendo, he just wasn’t catching on the way we’ve seen other RBs do in Shanahan’s scheme. Sunday night was his coming out party and it came in a game where the 49ers desperately needed their run game to get rolling to help them turn things around after a rough first half.

With Christian McCaffrey set to return soon, Guerendo may not get another opportunity as a lead RB this season, but he took his opportunity Sunday night and played well enough to be a major cog in a huge 49ers victory.

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49ers injury updates immediately following huge win over Cowboys

Injury updates for the 49ers:

The San Francisco 49ers paid a bit of a price for their Week 8 win over the Dallas Cowboys.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan had a quartet of injury updates after the game with four players who were banged up and didn’t return to action.

Running back Jordan Mason in the first half hurt the same shoulder he injured in Week 8. He left to the locker room early and returned for the second half with his helmet, but he never entered the game in the second half. Shanahan said Mason might have been able to return.

“Maybe he could’ve,” Shanahan said. “But Isaac (Guerendo) was rolling and he did a good job.”

Guerendo had 85 yards on 14 carries in Mason’s stead.

Wide receiver Deebo Samuel left the game in the fourth quarter with a rib injury. It’s unclear when he was injured, but he was unable to re-enter the game in some key situations late in the contest.

On the defensive side, linebacker Dee Winters left with a concussion he sustained while covering a kickoff. Rookie cornerback Renardo Green also hurt his ankle.

Shanahan didn’t have long-term prognoses for any of the players hurt in Week 8, but with the 49ers’ Bye week in Week 9, they’ll have some extra time to get right in time for a post-Bye playoff push.

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49ers 4th-round pick gets 1st career TD

Isaac Guerendo punched in his first career touchdown on Sunday Night Football against the Cowboys.

After Jordan Mason exited the game in the first half with a shoulder injury, the San Francisco 49ers turned to rookie rusher Isaac Guerendo. The fourth round pick stepped in for Mason and delivered in scoring fashion to start the second half.

Following a long catch and run from George Kittle, the rookie out of Louisville punched in his first touchdown run of his young career. Guerendo burst through the trenches for a four-yard touchdown to cap off the 49ers’ first drive of the third quarter.

Via @49ers on Twitter:

This post originally appeared on Niners Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

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49ers RB Jordan Mason exits to locker room early vs. Cowboys

Jordan Mason left to the locker room before the first half ended.

San Francisco 49ers running back Jordan Mason left the team’s game against the Dallas Cowboys early Sunday night.

Mason was hurt in the first quarter after a six-yard carry, but jogged off the field and never went to the blue medical tent. He wound up returning to the game, but jogged to the locker room before the half ended according to ESPN’s Nick Wagoner.

He is officially questionable to return with a shoulder injury.

The 49ers offense was supposed to take the field with just under three minutes to go, so it wasn’t a matter of just getting a head start before the half.

It’s unclear what Mason hurt on the earlier carry, but he did suffer a shoulder injury in Week 6 that made him questionable for Week 7 against the Chiefs.

He seemed to get through the Chiefs game without issue, but he’s not headed to the locker room after just six carries Sunday night.

Those six carries hadn’t been particularly effective. He had only 18 yards with a long run of six yards.

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Several stars out or limited in 49ers 1st Week 8 practice

The San Francisco 49ers injury updates going into a Week 8 matchup with the Dallas Cowboys aren’t great.

The San Francisco 49ers will enter a crucial Week 8 showdown with the Dallas Cowboys in a bad way on the injury front.

They took the field Wednesday for the first practice of the week and had nine players either out or limited by injuries. That doesn’t include players like Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk who are both on IR.

Among the non-participants Wednesday was wide receiver Deebo Samuel. He was hospitalized with pneumonia, but has since been released from the hospital and has a chance to play in Sunday’s game according to head coach Kyle Shanahan.

Here’s the rest of Wednesday’s participation report:

Did not participate

WR Deebo Samuel (wrist, illness)
WR Jauan Jennings (hip)
K Jake Moody (ankle)
TE George Kittle (foot)
DT Kevin Givens (groin)
S George Odum (knee)
OL Trent Williams (Not injury related) 

This is suboptimal for the 49ers. Samuel and Jennings were both ostensibly out for Week 7’s loss to the Chiefs. Samuel tried playing, but only got three snaps in before missing the rest of the game. If they’re both out Sunday and Kittle can’t go, it will leave the 49ers and quarterback Brock Purdy woefully short on weapons in the passing game. All three players are capable of playing even without practicing during the week, but it would be nice to see them in action at least in a limited fashion before Friday.

Limited participation

WR Chris Conley (ankle)
RB Jordan Mason (shoulder)
DE Nick Bosa (elbow)

Conley was dinged up in Sunday’s game, so it’s a good sign for the 49ers’ receiving corps that he’s able to at least get a limited session in. Mason played through his shoulder injury last week, while Bosa started wearing an elbow sleeve or brace during the game. Shanahan hasn’t mentioned any injury issues with Bosa, so the severity is unclear.

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49ers breakout star Jordan Mason isn’t satisfied with strong start to 2024

Jordan Mason knows how great Christian McCaffrey is. Now he wants to be better.

There aren’t many stories in the NFL this season better than San Francisco 49ers running back Jordan Mason.

The third-year undrafted rookie RB entered the season with 83 career carries and looked to be in line for another year a seldom-used reserve behind reigning Offensive Player of the Year, Christian McCaffrey. Now he’s the NFL’s second-leading rusher and San Francisco’s workhorse back while McCaffrey nurses bi-lateral Achilles tendinitis.

Mason isn’t satisfied with simply being a good story, though.

He joined the Candlestick Chronicles podcast with Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (launching October 25!), and said even before his new role emerged he was setting goals for himself to be the 49ers’ best running back.

“You gotta have goals within yourself, honestly,” Mason said. “I mean, I know who Christian McCaffrey is, and I wanna be better than him. He’s great, but I wanna be greater. So that’s my motivation in life.  I want to get better as myself. I want to get better — like I see my kids, when they look at me, they look at me like Superman. So I’ve gotta be Superman for them. So just things like that. You’ve gotta be motivated. You’ve gotta have that fire in you.”

While Mason has work to do to surpass McCaffrey, he’s off to a good start in his first stretch as a full-time, No. 1 back. His 5.2 yards per carry are the third-highest among players with at least 100 rushes, and he’s on pace to churn out 1,619 rushing yards — 232 more than McCaffrey’s career-high.

Perhaps the most impressive part of Mason’s strong start is that he’s maintained his productivity despite an unprecedented workload. He had his NFL career-high in carries for a season after only two games. Now he’s 44 carries shy of his career high in carries at Georgia Tech. He had 172 attempts in the 2019 campaign.

Mason said the expanded role hasn’t changed the way he handles himself during the season, save for some body maintenance.

“Honestly, you don’t want to change a lot,” Mason said. “Cuz then you start getting in your head thinking ‘oh you gotta do this. Oh you gotta do that.’ Like Christian even told me. He was like, ‘dude, just do you. What you’ve done has got you here, so just continue to do you.’ And that’s literally what he told me from himself, so I’m just staying the same. Obviously you’ve gotta do more things with maintaining your body. I’ve done acupuncture more times than ever before.”

The star RB admitted he isn’t a fan of needles, but he’s gotten used to the acupuncture treatment.

As the 49ers’ stumble toward their Week 9 Bye, they’re under a microscope with a 3-4 record after entering the season as a Super Bowl favorite.

While there are several ways to parse just what’s wrong with the 49ers this season, their offense is a particular aspect that’s drawn some scrutiny. They’ve made some changes to how they operate on that side of the ball with more downfield passing and fewer short throws that generate yards after the catch.

There’s still a heavy emphasis on the run game, and while Mason didn’t want to talk about some of the larger changes to San Francisco’s offensive approach, he knows exactly what his role is supposed to be when his number is called.

“I’m not gonna say too much about that,” Mason said. “All I know is when Brock Purdy wants to give me the ball, I’m there and I’m ready.”

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