49ers RB Elijah Mitchell (concussion/knee) will not play Thursday night against the Tennessee Titans.

Related Players: Jeff Wilson Jr., Deebo Samuel

Mitchell has a chance to be available for Week 17 with the extra rest coming. Wilson and Samuel take on a very good Titans run defense.

49ers Elijah Mitchell's will be a game-night decision Thursday.

Related players: Jeff Wilson

Mitchell is out of concussion protocol so the issue now is his knee. But Inman's tweet said his knee issue has taken a "positive turn." Mitchell's concussion and knee injury came on the same play, according to Inman. The Niners play on Thursday night to kick off Week 16. Wilson would be a solid play if needed, if Mitchell can't go on the short week.

Shanahan didn’t rule out Elijah Mitchell for Thursday’s game against the Titans.

Related players: Jeff Wilson, Kyle Juszczyk, JaMycal Hasty

The story said Shanahan seemed skeptical about the running back’s prospects last week. Mitchell is now out of the concussion protocol but still is dealing with a knee injury suffered against the Seahawks on Dec. 5. Wilson played on 50 snaps last week with Hasty getting just three. It may be a battle to be ready on the short week for Mitchell, however.

49ers RB Elijah Mitchell (knee/concussion) will miss Week 15's game against the Atlanta Falcons.

Related Players: Deebo Samuel, Jeff Wilson Jr., JaMycal Hasty

Look for Samuel and Wilson to get most of the rushing work for San Fran, with Hasty filling in during two-minute drills or a blowout.

San Francisco 49ers running back Elijah Mitchell missed Thursday's practice.

Mitchell is listed with a concussion and knee injury but was spotted working on the side of the field with trainers, a sign that he may have exited the league's concussion protocol. He will need to log at least a limited practice on Friday to have a chance at playing this weekend, so this is a situation to monitor. Mitchell has been excellent when healthy and is currently our eighth-ranked running back for Week 15.

49ers RB Elijah Mitchell (concussion) and TE George Kittle (knee soreness) were not practicing Wednesday.

Related Players: JaMycal Hasty, Jeff Wilson Jr.

The hope was to have Mitchell carry the load Week 15, but no practice for him puts that in jeopardy.

Kittle should be good and his absence considered more of a precaution.

Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson and Trenton Cannon are scheduled to be unrestricted free agents in March. Given how vital that position is, I think the 49ers should re-sign Wilson (no brainer), re-sign Mostert (more expensive, yes, but it’s necessary) and bring in one more additional runner. That would give them: Mostert, Elijah Mitchell, Wilson, Trey Sermon, JaMycal Hasty and _____ to start the offseason.

The author went on to say the 49ers’ motto when it comes to running backs ought to be: We can never have enough. The big fantasy question would be who is the lead back as Mostert, Mitchell and Wilson have all had the role at one time or another.

The bottom line is that once Elijah Mitchell is back and Jeff Wilson is 100 percent — and he’s getting closer — the less of a need there will be for Deebo Samuel to play eight snaps at running back. Maybe that drops to three or four in coming weeks. That seems about right.

The question was part of a mailbag. The author pointed out maybe there’s a slightly higher risk of getting injured on runs through the A or B gaps. But it’s not like Samuel’s playing a dainty, finesse version of wide receiver, either. He’s trying to smash through tacklers every opportunity he gets, the author said.

A fourth runner, Brian Hill, was elevated from the practice squad for the game and played 16 snaps on special teams. Hill’s was only a short-term promotion while cornerback Saivion Smith and receiver River Cracraft were signed to the 53-man roster. Perhaps that’s an indication the 49ers feel Elijah Mitchell will be back this week. (Smith, meanwhile, was waived on Monday but, per a league source, the 49ers plan to sign him back to the practice squad after he clears waivers.)

Related players: Jeff Wilson

It may be a little bit of a read-between-the-lines situation here, but it's at least a sign of hope for Mitchell owners who may have survived Week 14 and are heading into the playoffs and Week 15. The story also talked about how Mitchell maybe can't be relied on for 25 touches a game based on his injuries, and the story indicated Wilson could steal some touches to limit Mitchell and keep him healthy for the stretch run. If Mitchell can't go, Wilson, who played on a team-high 42 snaps, would likely get the biggest workload in Week 15.