Kyle Shanahan says the 49ers have to do a better job with their RB rotation — Elijah Mitchell didn't see any carries and Shanahan said that was NOT the plan.

McCaffrey had 23 touches in Week 2 and fantasy owners rejoiced again. The 49ers likely feel that isn't a pace McCaffrey can sustain over a full season. While Mitchell has proved to be a capable back, he has just five carries for 10 yards, all coming in Week 1. He's still a valuable handcuff to CMC, but the standalone value isn't there yet.

The 49ers placed running back Elijah Mitchell on injured reserve Saturday.

Mitchell has a torn MCL that will sideline him 6-8 weeks, so this was a procedural move for the 49ers and the second time Mitchell will be on IR after missing seven games prior to returning on November 12. They'll likely rest him until the playoffs, so his fantasy season is effectively over.

Who rises in the running back rotation now that Elijah Mitchell will miss a substantial amount of time? Never underestimate Shanahan’s fondness for veteran Tevin Coleman, who is on the practice squad but had a pivotal role in the Week 5 win in Carolina.

Meanwhile, Shanahan continues to sing the praises of third-round pick Tyrion Davis-Price even though Price has been a healthy scratch since Week 7. Jordan Mason has been in uniform instead of Davis-Price because Mason is the better special-teamer and has become a stalwart on the kickoff and punt units.

Related players: Christian McCaffrey

The story said McCaffrey played about 65% of the snaps but is also dealing with some knee irritation. Ideally, the 49ers would like to keep McCaffrey around that mark, so the RB who is next up could certainly have some fantasy value with Mitchell sidelined again. In deeper leagues or dynasty leagues, Coleman could still be on your wire and may be worth a stash until this situation sorts itself out.

The 49ers hoped to avoid a long-term knee injury with Elijah Mitchell. They didn't. Mitchell is expected to miss 6-8 weeks, per head coach Kyle Shanahan. Meanwhile, the 49ers will manage Christian McCaffrey's "knee irritation" during the week.

Related Players: Jordan Mason, Tyrion Davis-Price

The injury bug continues to live rent-free inside the 49ers backfield. Stay tuned for what exactly "knee irritation" means, but Tyrion Davis-Price should be nabbed off of waiver wires wherever he is available for the fantasy playoffs. Davis-Price is no longer going to be healthy-scratched and needs to be on all fantasy rosters moving forward in case he becomes the de facto RB1 in San Francisco's offense.

FULL 49ers' injury summary:

No practice:
Arik Armstead (foot/ankle)
Samson Ebukam (quad/Achilles)

Limited:
Jason Verrett (knee)
Dre Greenlaw (calf)

Full:
Deebo Samuel
Jauan Jennings
Kyle Juszczyk
Colton McKivitz*
Azeez Al-Shaair*
Elijah Mitchell*

*No official designation (IR)

Good news for Deebo owners. Samuel missed Week 8 with a hamstring injury which led up to the team's bye in Week 9. The extra rest seems to have helped, and it appears Samuel should be good to go in Week 10.

My guess is that Elijah Mitchell and Christian McCaffrey will be the main runners with Mitchell getting early-down carries and McCaffrey having more of a change-of-pace and third-down role.

Related players: Deebo Samuel

McCaffrey was getting 85 percent of the snaps for Carolina. The author said he can’t imagine the 49ers want his snap counts that high, and the hope seems to be that he and the oft-injured Mitchell will save each other wear and tear. In another question from the mailbag, the author said they could turn to a thunder-and-lightning-and-thunder combination of Samuel, McCaffrey and Mitchell.

Stunner: Panthers are trading Pro-Bowl RB Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for draft picks, sources tell ESPN.

McCaffrey returns to the Bay Area, where he attended Stanford.

Related players: D'Onta Foreman, Chuba Hubbard, Elijah Mitchell, Jeff Wilson

This should enhance McCaffrey's value since the 49ers run a more competent offense than the Panthers. Elijah Mitchell is no longer expected to be a fantasy starter upon his return from injury, and can be dropped if necessary. He's an attrition RB2 now. Jimmy Garoppolo should benefit by having such a good receiving back to throw to, but targets are already at a premium, so Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle each take a slight hit. In Carolina, we'll likely see a committee consisting of D'Onta Foreman on early downs and Chuba Hubbard as a third-down/change-of-pace back. On the season, Foreman has played 31 snaps while Hubbard has played 30. Foreman has 12 touches (all carries), while Hubbard has six carries and one reception.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan said on Monday that third-round pick Tyrion Davis-Price is going to miss “a few weeks” after suffering a high-ankle sprain in Sunday’s win over the Seahawks.

Related players: Elijah Mitchell, Jeff Wilson, Kyle Juszczyk, Jordan Mason, Marlon Mack

The Niner RBs are falling fast as this comes after the team lost Mitchell for about 8 weeks, according to reports. With Wilson the lead back, Mason now becomes an injury away from possibly seeing a significant fantasy role. Juszczyk could continue to steal goal line TDs.

Jeff Wilson appeared in nine games last season after recovering from a torn meniscus in a knee. When he did play, he didn't look much like the player who led the team in rushing in 2020. Another year removed from that injury, Wilson appeared to be closer to his former self in training camp, though he managed just 22 yards on nine carries after replacing Mitchell at rain-soaked Soldier Field on Sunday.

"We've always been comfortable with Jeff, just because of his experience and what he has done here," Kyle Shanahan said. "We know what we're going to get."

Related players: Elijah Mitchell, Tyrion Davis-Price, Kyle Juszczyk, Jordan Mason, Marlon Mack, Deebo Samuel

What the Niners may not be comfortable with is what's behind Wilson at this point, though. Davis-Price is a rookie who was inactive in Week 1 behind undrafted rookie Mason. Mason played on special teams, however. The team signed Mack but he couldn't make the Texans roster. It's possible Samuel sees an uptick in rushes. The team seems like a Wilson injury away from a big problem at RB.

Due to the sprained MCL that Elijah Mitchell suffered Sunday at Chicago, the sophomore running back is expected to miss about two months.

Related Players: Jeff Wilson, Tyrion Davis-Price, Jordan Mason

The 49ers' yearly injury woes continue right out of the gate, with Mitchell unlikely to return until at least the middle of the season. Behind him in Week 1, Jeff Wilson logged nine rush attempts and ran 17 routes, the fourth most on the team behind Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, and Jauan Jennings. It would appear he is most likely to fill in as the team's RB1.