After the 49ers’ season-opening victory on Monday night, running back Jordan Mason told ESPN’s Lisa Salters that he knew he’d be starting Friday’s game. However, head coach Kyle Shanahan later contradicted Mason’s claim during his post-game press conference.
“I never told Jordan he was going to start,” Shanahan clarified to reporters. “I told him he needed to be ready, but that’s different. It might have been [running backs coach] Bobby [Turner] or someone else trying to hype him up, but I knew he was going to play a lot. I just made sure he understood it wasn’t going to be business as usual.”
Shanahan also addressed the decision to sit star running back Christian McCaffrey due to lingering issues with his calf and Achilles.
“It’s the same stuff that was bothering him all week,” Shanahan explained. “It flared up a bit today. It was a game-time decision. We talked it over, and he still felt it. We thought it was smarter to keep him out, and I’m glad we did.”
The 49ers have kept details surrounding McCaffrey’s status somewhat vague, with him being listed as questionable leading into the game. Teams often engage in strategic ambiguity when it comes to injury reports, leaving room for gamesmanship. While Mason’s comments to Salters suggest he had an inkling about his increased role, Shanahan and the 49ers stuck to their version of the story.
Whatever was said to Mason, it turned out to be spot on, perhaps even more accurate than the injury report listing McCaffrey as a game-time decision.