What happened to Jordan Mason? Christian McCaffrey and the Niners' backup RB were placed on IR 

Jordan Mason played an unexpected role during the San Francisco 49ers season. The undrafted running back from the 2022 class ascended to the lead back role for Kyle Shanahan's team, as superstar Christian McCaffrey suffered from tendinitis in both Achilles and missed more than half of the season.

Mason's snap count dropped massively since McCaffrey returned. He went from around 80% to roughly 10%, and it looked like there was no value on him with McCaffrey again healthy. However, during Sunday Night Football in Week 13 against the Bills, the starter again suffered an injury, and the backup was called upon.

But it didn't last long. As McCaffrey will miss the rest of the season with a PCL injury on his knee, Mason was supposed to take his spot as the starter back again. But he's also headed to the injured reserve as, according to head coach Kyle Shanahan, he suffered a knee injury on Sunday's game.

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It's time for Isaac Guerendo to lead the backfield for San Francisco. He was the primary backup for Mason while McCaffrey was not playing, and the rookie is now set to get the largest number of carries in the remaining games of the season. McCaffrey could return in six weeks but it's unlikely that the 49ers will be playing until then.

The 49ers are 5-7 in the 2024 season and they're two and a half games away from a playoff position with five games to go.

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Jordan Mason's final stats in the 2024 season

Apart from the injury, the running back concluded a great year for him, with 789 rushing yards and three touchdowns to his name. He had an excellent average of 5.2 yards per carry, and had he not gotten injured, crossing the 1,000-yard mark would have been an easy thing for him to do.

He also had three games where he crossed the 100-yard mark, but as the season progressed, the 49ers' offense started to struggle more with many injuries to their name. In his rookie year, Guerendo is currently averaging 5.9 yards per carry, along with two rushing touchdowns.

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