Getty Jimmy Garoppolo handing the ball off to his San Francisco 49ers teammate Elijah Mitchell.
After leaving Mexico relatively unscathed from an injury standpoint, the San Francisco 49ers found themselves far less lucky in Week 12, where they saw multiple players take big hits, suffer non-contact scares, and ultimately miss playing time for one reason or another. Jimmie Ward exited the game with an apparent knee issue, Spencer Burford suffered an ankle injury that resulted in both a walking boot and Daniel Brunskill replacing him full-time, and both Elijah Mitchell and Christian McCaffrey left the game with injuries.
After listing off the injuries suffered in the game like he often does, Kyle Shanahan provided an update on Mitchell’s status, who has unfortunately suffered another MCL sprain, the same injury then landed him on IR after Week 1. Fortunately, it sounds like Mitchell’s current issue isn’t as severe as his last one, as transcribed by Nick Wagoner of ESPN.
“We’ll see how Elijah goes,” Shanahan said. “Most likely, Elijah will be out a little bit, and that will give opportunities for those [other] guys.”
Adam Schefter of ESPN provided additional information on Mitchell’s status moving forward, echoing Shanahan’s sentiment that the second-year former sixth-round pick is believed to have suffered an MCL sprain but that the team expects this particular issue “is not as bad” as the injury he suffered against the Chicago Bears.
Kyle Shanahan Has Faith In The San Francisco 49ers’ Depth
Asked about McCaffrey’s status, Shanahan hoped that “Christian will be alright, too” before going on to give props to Jordan Mason and Tyrion Davis-Price, who may be relied upon to play more moving forward if Mitchell or McCaffrey miss time.
“I think JP (Mason) came in there and did a really good job there at the end,” Shanahan said. “They had every single person up there trying to stop the run, and I think you guys saw how hard-nosed he is and how he ran it and was able to keep us out there on the field and not give it back … Then Ty, we’ve been wanting to get Ty up.”
Though Mason and TDP haven’t been deployed all that often in 2022, with the duo combining for just 21 carries for 58 yards and zero touchdowns before facing off against the New Orleans Saints, the former did run the ball five times for 25 yards in Week 12 to close out the game. Davis-Price was drafted to become the 49ers’ eventual replacement for Jeff Wilson, what better chance to step into a bigger role than with his former teammate on the opposite sideline in Week 13?
Jimmie Ward Provides An Update On His Injury
While he didn’t make it to the podium to discuss his injury after the 49ers’ shutout victory, Chris Biderman of the Sacramento Bee caught up with him in the locker room to get an update on his status.
“Following up on Jimmie Ward: he said postgame his knee got cleated on an earlier play, and he first noticed it during this sequence,” Biderman wrote. “Got it checked out on the sideline and was deemed okay to play.”
Even if some fans aren’t sold on Ward manning the slot, it’s encouraging to know he isn’t expected to miss any more time moving forward, as between his preseason hamstring injury and his broken hand in Week 5, any more missing time could be a serious letdown for the former first-round pick out of Northern Illinois, especially as he prepares to test the free agent market in May.