San Francisco 49ers running back Jordan Mason had the best game of his young career against the New York Jets on Monday Night Football. The undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech rushed for 147 yards and a touchdown, filling in for an injured and inactive Christian McCaffrey.
However, what Mason said after the game has stirred some controversy.
Jordan Mason sparks post-game controversy for San Francisco 49ers
Immediately following the game, ESPN reporter Lisa Salters asked Mason when he found out he was starting since McCaffrey was dealing with a calf and Achilles injury. Mason responded he learned “maybe Friday, Friday night.”
During his on-field postgame Jordan Mason said he found out he was starting on Friday, but the #49ers disclosed CMC was OUT an hour before kickoff.
— uSTADIUM (@uSTADIUM) September 10, 2024
Jordan was pissed when again asked about it in his postgame presser. Kyle Shanahan vehemently denied it.#NFL will look into this. pic.twitter.com/8ryGSU6Fhh
The problem? McCaffrey wasn’t on the injury report until Saturday, as he was a limited participant during practice last week. The All-Pro running back was listed as inactive 90 minutes before last night’s kickoff.
Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan refuted that Mason was told Friday he was going to start.
“I never told Jordan he was going to start. I told him that he had to be ready a bunch,” Shanahan said during his postgame press conference. “I knew he was going to have to play a lot. I told him it wasn’t going to be like usual.”
#49ers HC Kyle Shanahan says he didn’t tell Jordan Mason on Friday that Mason would be starting tonight https://t.co/E6EkXB8rh6 pic.twitter.com/S0dXr7iT8N
— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) September 10, 2024
Shanahan added that McCaffrey, who has been dealing with the calf and Achilles injuries since training camp, did not have a setback on Friday and that he didn’t play as a precautionary measure.
“It was on and off throughout the week. He was able to practice throughout the week. It was always bothering him to a degree. Sometimes it goes away and sometimes it comes back,” Shanahan noted. “Today, it was bothering him a little too much to where we didn’t feel good about it.”
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Will Jordan Mason start again in Week 2?
It’s not yet known if McCaffrey will be ready for Week 2 against the 1-0 Minnesota Vikings.
Following Shanahan’s press conference, Mason was asked once again when he found out he was going to start. This time, the running back gave an exasperated answer.
“That question right there is why I’m mad. That’s why I don’t really like talking to media because you say one thing wrong, and then, you know. I don’t know, just skip that question,” Mason said.
Jordan Mason was upset during the postgame press conference
— Kevin Krueger (@kevinkruegs) September 10, 2024
After the game he told reporters that he was told he was going to start on Friday.
Kyle Shanahan was asked about this and said that this wasn’t true.
This was Mason after all of that: https://t.co/UA4yAuMzQp pic.twitter.com/zsApKlYOIv
The NFL doesn’t take kindly to teams withholding injury news to star players, especially with gambling and fantasy football being multibillion-dollar businesses. It remains to be seen if the NFL will take any disciplinary action against the Niners.
Related: Week 2 fantasy rankings: Best QB, RB, WR and TEs to start, sit this week