SANTA CLARA, Calif. – When the San Francisco 49ers parted ways on Nov. 3, Jordan Mason was the NFL’s third-leading rusher with 685 yards.

Two weeks later he dropped to twelfth place. Injuries? He was still nursing a shoulder sprain coming into the 49ers coming out of the bye, but was not listed on the practice report this past week. A much bigger obstacle for the running tailback sits on the other side of the locker room wearing No. 23.

Christian McCaffrey has been gobbling up the 49ers’ photos and bags since returning from a two-month absence. For example, during Sunday’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks, Mason came in midway through a long drive in the first quarter. He picked up 8 yards on a first-down carry and then gained another 5 yards on second down.

He then went to the sideline and did not appear in the attack again from then on. McCaffrey played all but four offensive snaps and got all but two running back carries. Over the past two weeks, only two NFL tailbacks – Chase Brown of the Cincinnati Bengals (149) and Jonathan Taylor of the Indianapolis Colts (116) – have logged more snaps than McCaffrey (115).

It makes sense that he quickly regained his role as the 49ers’ frontrunner. McCaffrey was a scoring machine in the red zone a year ago and he is by far their best option out of the backfield. He has as many receptions (ten) through two games as Mason has all season.

However, the extent to which he has taken power is surprising.

First, McCaffrey is recovering from bilateral Achilles tendonitis, an issue he struggled with during training camp. He also had a huge workload last season, though both he and coach Kyle Shanahan have said they don’t think the running back’s 2023 usage was related to the Achilles tendon.

“I don’t believe that. I don’t think he believes that,” Shanahan said this month. “I think things happen to a body. I think they happen in the offseason, but I don’t think that really has to do with numbers (from the season before). If a man is healthy and good, they are usually good.

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While the 49ers haven’t relaxed McCaffrey’s game usage, they have changed his practice schedule. He was limited for two of three practices last week; He didn’t train at all on Wednesday to give him extra rest.

Second, the 49ers have a more than capable backup in Mason, who helped keep the 49ers afloat in McCaffrey’s absence. Now, not only is he at the mercy of the occasional role he played last season, he’s also sharing those snaps with rookie Isaac Guerendo, who the 49ers are looking to develop.

“I’d like to see all those guys play,” Shanahan said. “But it depends on the situation, it depends on how often you get the ball, it depends on the drives, it depends on whether we are going to use two backs. If you do two backs you have to take a big off or another receiver. But I don’t always think about how to get Christian off.”

Shanahan and his running backs coach, Bobby Turner, have never liked spreading out carries, especially when they have an elite runner in their backfield. Denver Broncos tailbacks like Terrell Davis, Olandis Gary and Mike Anderson didn’t do much together when Turner was Mike Shanahan’s running backs coach in the late 1990s and early 2000s. When the group was in Washington in 2012, Alfred Morris received 335 carries. Every other tailback on the team combined for 25.

When asked about that philosophy on Wednesday, Shanahan noted that the 49ers rotated between Matt Breida, Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman in the first four seasons he and Turner were in San Francisco.

“Since Christian got here, I think this is the only time we’ve had one guy,” he said. “And I think that’s for obvious reasons.”

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Odds and ends

• Brock Purdy (shoulder throw) was limited in Wednesday’s practice and did not attempt any throws during the 20-minute portion at the start, which is open to reporters. Purdy made the same moves as the other three quarterbacks, but didn’t release the ball.

No throwing for Brock Purdy (right shoulder) at the start of today’s workout – just mental and movement reps. pic.twitter.com/6Lsb5TnaA5

— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) November 20, 2024

Shanahan said Purdy was injured Sunday, but wasn’t sure which one. Purdy runs much more often this season than he has in the past. He has 51 carries in 10 games, up from 39 all of last season, and he ranks ninth in rushing among quarterbacks with 267 yards.

“You don’t want him to get hit and we always talk about that,” Shanahan said. “I think he’s done a pretty good job of avoiding that this year. He hasn’t been too reckless. There was one in particular (on Sunday) that I thought could have been addressed a little earlier.

• The 49ers signed edge rusher Jonathan Garvin, who was with them at training camp, to the practice squad, perhaps as protection against Nick Bosa’s hip/oblique injury. Like last week, Bosa did not practice Wednesday in hopes that the situation would calm down enough during the week to allow him to play Sunday in Green Bay.

Bosa entered the Seahawks game with a painful oblique injury on one side of his body and emerged with issues on both sides. He said he was in more pain Wednesday than this time last week and wasn’t sure he could play against the Packers.

“It’s a little early to say anything at all,” he said. “We’ll know in a few days.”

Bosa missed all but two games of the 2020 season after suffering an ACL tear. He has missed one start since, a Week 6 loss to the Atlanta Falcons in 2022.

Offensive tackle Trent Williams (ankle), McCaffrey, defensive tackle Kevin Givens (groin) and linebacker Tatum Bethune (knee) also missed practice. Tight end George Kittle (hamstring), Purdy, cornerback Charvarius Ward (personal) and receiver Jacob Cowing (concussion) were limited.

Kittle said the hamstring injury that kept him out of the Seahawks game was “completely different” than the injury that forced him to miss Week 3.

“That, I think, is a good thing: not injuring the same thing multiple times,” he said. “It definitely got better as the week went on. And Saturday was a tough day. I felt pretty good on Friday, but on Saturday it didn’t feel great. And on Sunday the place wasn’t good enough to say, ‘Okay, let’s go out and push it.’ I don’t think it would have been my best work anyway.”

George Kittle (hamstring) said he would play Sunday in Green Bay. He is officially limited today, but looked spry.

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— @mattbarrows (@mattbarrows.bsky.social) November 20, 2024 at 2:17 PM

• Shanahan said he wasn’t sure if Ward would play against the Packers. He has been out of action since the death of his 1-year-old daughter, Amani Joy, last month.

“This will be his first practice in a while, so I don’t really have any expectations (for Sunday),” Shanahan said. “We’ll take it easy and we’ll see how he looks today.”

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• Offensive lineman Jon Feliciano’s (knee) practice period will close Monday. The 49ers will have to decide by then whether to add him to the active roster — and remove someone from it to make room for Feliciano — or keep him on injured reserve for the rest of the season.

Feliciano has practiced at both center and guard.

(Top photo: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)