The San Francisco 49ers‘ running back situation is a jumbled mess. Raheem Mostert is out for the season, Jeff Wilson Jr. is out until November-ish, JaMycal Hasty injured his ankle against the Philadelphia Eagles and will miss at least a week, rookie Elijah Mitchell is “very questionable” to play this Sunday according to general manager John Lynch, and fellow rookie Trey Sermon sustained a scary-looking concussion on his first-ever carry last weekend.
But out of that crew, Sermon actually sounds like he’s by far the closest to suiting up against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football — and if he does, he’ll likely be in line for the lion’s share of carries out of the Niners backfield.
Sermon, a third-round pick from Ohio State, had a miserable start to his pro career. He was a healthy scratch in Week 1 against the Detroit Lions, then took a brutal hit and fumbled on his first career carry versus the Eagles.
But Sermon is still considered to be an immensely talented, potentially every-down running back, and from all indications, he’s progressing through all the necessary concussion protocols he’ll need to pass in order to play again. His status versus the Packers is undecided, but Lynch said on Friday morning that Sermon “looks like he’s going to have his opportunities.” On Thursday, coach Kyle Shanahan said, “I think it’s looking good with Trey Sermon. I think we’ll find that out [on Friday]. So hopefully, he’ll be good enough to go.”
We’ll update this post when Sermon’s status is official, but if he’s able to play, he’ll have lots of opportunities. The other running backs on the roster — Trenton Cannon and recently signed former XFL player Jacques Patrick — could factor in if Shanahan is feeling feisty, but neither is as promising as Sermon (including from a fantasy football perspective).
On that front, if you’re especially desperate, Lynch did drop this tidbit about Patrick, who’s a bulkier running back: “You’re going to think you’ve got John Riggins back there.” That might translate to goal-line carries, but then again, the Niners’ brass spent a bunch of time talking up their dual-quarterback system and then didn’t use Trey Lance at all in Week 2. Sermon is the likeliest backfield bet for San Francisco.
