Lynch reveals what the return of CMC’s 49ers means for Mason. Guerendo originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
All signs point to Christian McCaffrey making his 2024 NFL season debut on Sunday, but what does that mean for the rest of the 49ers running backs?
While McCaffrey was rehabbing from bilateral Achilles tendonitis, backup Jordan Mason and newcomer Isaac Guerendo kept things in check for San Francisco. With McCaffrey set to return against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 49ers general manager John Lynch revealed how Mason and Guerendo’s usage could be affected.
“Throughout my years in the league, I think one of the coolest things is you never like to see someone get injured. But when someone does or someone moves on to another team, an opportunity presents itself,” Lynch said Friday morning in the KNBR. Murph and Markus.” “And who’s going to step up and how are they going to step up? JP Mason has been a man. When you make an NFL team as an undrafted free agent, at one point we made a third-round pick to keep him, so I think that speaks to you that he’s always up to the task. JP has worked his way up a bit in this league as a backup player who closed games but was a very good special teams player. He got his opponent while Christian was injured. and he really had a fantastic season.
“He believes that he will be ready when we give it to him. And Isaac clearly has a special talent. We don’t just field training warriors, we field really good football players. … He seems to be getting better and better. ” a little better every week. So obviously you still want to get those guys involved. They can both help on offense.
Mason broke out for the 49ers while McCaffrey was out, racking up 685 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns on 134 carries. But he injured his shoulder in the first half of San Francisco’s Week 6 win over the Seattle Seahawks and was ruled out for the rest of the game. He returned for Week 7 before re-aggravating the injury in Week 8.
The 49ers’ Week 9 bye came at the right time as injuries began to pile up. Things looked hopeful for Mason after he was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice, but he was a limited participant the next day, leaving his status for Sunday uncertain.
Moving down their RB depth chart, the 49ers next turned to Guerendo, who was selected No. 129 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft out of Louisville.
The 24-year-old has made the most of his opportunities so far, rushing for 186 yards on 25 carries in the past three games, with one touchdown.
When adversity has hit the 49ers this season, both Mason and Guerendo have proven that they are more than capable of leading the backfield, which should allow the 49ers to play cautiously with McCaffrey, who Lynch said has been there during the training this week ‘looked great’.
Lynch said the 49ers will come up with a quick count plan for the All-Pro back, and in the meantime, the backups will have to stay ready in case their number is called.
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