The San Francisco 49ers dominated the New England Patriots in Week 4, thanks in part to another impressive display from RB Jordan Mason. In his ensuing press conference, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed that Mason had an apology for him.
Mason, a third-year player who had not started a game until this season, ran for 123 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries, exemplifying the term “bell-cow” back. However, according to Shanahan, he said he missed a few chances and let Shanahan know he was apologetic.
“JP runs so hard. When you commit to the run and he gets a number of carries, it’s just eventually, he’s going to get them [yards], you know what I mean?” Shanahan said. “He just apologized to me before I walked in here because there’s a couple [of runs] he missed, which is the type of guy he is. There were some that he left out there. But there’s also — when I feel there’s nothing there — he also always gets a lot more than I’m expecting. He has been a stud this year.”
Through four starts, Mason has now racked up 447 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns. The former Georgia Tech Yellowjacket is averaging 4.9 yards per carry.
Sports Medicine Specialist Speaks on Christian McCaffrey Recovery
Mason is stepping in as the 49ers’ starting RB because Christian McCaffrey is missing significant time with an Achilles issue. Heading into the 2024 campaign, it was not clear how severe the injury was for the 2023 Offensive Player of the Year.
With news that McCaffrey is heading to Germany to see a specialist, San Francisco Chronicle reporter Eric Branch interviewed a sports medicine specialist, Kenton Fibel, to speculate on McCaffrey’s condition. Fibel said, according to Branch, that he believes the 49ers are taking things slow because the process to heal may be more time-consuming than was initially thought.
“I think it more suggests this is an injury that they think they are going to need something more to augment his healing that may require weeks or a couple months rather than a week or two,” Fibel said, according to Branch. “This may be something where you realize the pathology is a little bit more serious and reserve a way to allow him to return this season, even if it does take a month or two with him needing a longer recovery.”
Losing McCaffrey is a major blow, but Mason’s standout performances has helped the 49ers in McCaffrey’s absence.
49ers RB Climbing UDFA List at Impressive Rate
San Francisco has found success in developing players who weren’t blue-chip prospects. Mason is the latest in that crew, and his early season success is putting him next to some legendary names.
According to ESPN’s Nick Wagoner, Mason’s 447 rushing yards through four games are the third most for an undrafted running back in NFL history.
The only two players above Mason? Kansas City Chiefs legend Priest Holmes (476) in 2004 and Houston Texans icon Arian Foster (539) in 2010.
For context, Foster went on to finish with a league-leading 1616 rushing yards that year. Holmes totaled 892 rushing yards after suffering a season-ending injury after 8 games.
Mason is on pace for 1,900 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns.
