Mason suffered a shoulder injury on a 14-yard run early in the second quarter against Seattle and returned for one more carry early in the third quarter before spending the rest of the game on the sideline with a wrap on his shoulder.

San Francisco managed to survive without him, turning to former undrafted free agent Patrick Taylor and rookie Isaac Guerendo to carry the load. Guerendo iced the win with a 76-yard run in the final two minutes of the game, setting up a six-yard Kyle Juszczyk touchdown run to seal the win.

The previously unknown Mason started 2024 with a bang, rushing for 147 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries in the 49ers’ season-opening win over the New York Jets on a night when most were surprised to see McCaffrey on the sideline in street clothes . . McCaffrey hasn’t played a down in 2024, but Mason has managed to replace him quite a bit, carrying the ball 114 times for a league-best 609 yards and three rushing scores.

If any franchise can find a replacement in the backfield and figure out ways for him to succeed, it’s the 49ers, a team that has turned players like Raheem Mostert, Elijah Mitchell, Jeff Wilson and Matt Breida into productive backs. . Luckily, it sounds like they won’t have to do that again, thanks to the good news about Mason.

Elsewhere in San Francisco’s offense, Shanahan said he expects to open Ricky Pearsall’s practice next week, while McCaffrey is not expected to return from his Achilles injury just yet.