Christian McCaffrey returned to practice Thursday after dealing with some “knee
irritation” during last week’s win over New Orleans.
“Everything’s full speed. I feel great,” McCaffrey said after practicing on a limited
basis. “Luckily, I might have dodged a bullet.”
Having McCaffrey in the lineup is crucial Sunday after Elijah Mitchell went down
with a knee injury last week that is expected to sideline him for the rest of the regular
season.
Mitchell had just returned last month from a knee injury that had sidelined him for
six games. Mitchell, who led the team in rushing with 963 yards as a rookie last
season, was averaging 5.6 yards per carry in his limited work this season.
“It’s brutal,” McCaffrey said. “I’ve been there before. It’s a pretty lonely and miserable
place to be. I haven’t known Elijah for a long time, but the one thing I do know is he’s
a fighter. The thing that I keep telling him is just to just to keep going. This is a
marathon. He’s going to have a marathon of a career. This won’t be the first or the
last time that he’s going to have to go through adversity. He’s going to play for a
really long time.”
With Mitchell sidelined again and Jeff Wilson Jr. having been traded to this week’s
opponent, Miami, after McCaffrey was acquired, the Niners will be relying on rookies
Jordan Mason and Ty Davis-Price to shoulder some of the load behind McCaffrey.
Mason showed some positive flashes late in last week’s win over the Saints with
Mitchell is out and McCaffrey nursing his sore knee.
The undrafted rookie, who had just five carries in the first 10 games, had four of his
five carries on the final drive that helped San Francisco run out the final 6:18 in a
13-0 win
Mason finished with five carries for 25 yards, converting two first downs on the final
drive and earning a nickname from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for wearing a glove
only on his right hand.
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“He was awesome,” Garoppolo said. “The one glove man.
I didn’t know he wore one glove until he was in the huddle with us and it kind of
caught me off guard a little bit, but I didn’t want to say it at the time, so I saved it for
after the game. But J.P. did a great job. He came in, was real calm. For a rookie to
come in that situation and run the clock out like that, getting a couple crucial first
downs that was some big stuff.”
Mason had moved ahead of third-round pick Davis-Price on the depth chart but both
could be needed Sunday.
After having 14 carries for 33 yards in Week 2, Davis-Price has had just two carries
and 14 offensive snaps the last nine games and has been inactive for four straight
games.
“He’s hungry to learn” McCaffrey said. “Unbelievably dynamic. He’s fast, physical, can
run. Both the young backs are very talented guys who can do a lot.”
NOTES: Arik Armstead (foot, ankle), who has been out since Week 4, practiced again
on a limited basis and said he’s coming back this week. … WR Deebo Samuel
(quadriceps) missed practice Thursday, a day after being limited. … G Spencer Burford
(ankle) and DL Charles Omenihu (knee) returned to practice on a limited basis.
