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49ers’ Kyle Shanahan: We have to do better with our RB rotation
Sep 18, 2023 at 10:25 AM
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played 57 offensive snaps on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams. The next closest running back was ... no one. No other running back took the field with the offense during the
30-23 win at SoFi Stadium.
That was not the plan going into the Week 2 game.
McCaffrey has now taken 115 snaps through two games this season. The only other running back who has lined up with the offense is
Elijah Mitchell, who had 10 snaps in Week 1.
"Yeah, we definitely got to get Elijah in there more and do better with our rotation than we did yesterday," head coach Kyle Shanahan said via a conference call on Monday. "That wasn't the plan going in. It just ended up that way, and I got to make sure that doesn't happen."
Who is responsible for determining the running back rotation? Does Shanahan typically get involved in substations during a game? The head coach broke it down for the curious reporters on the call.
"No," Shanahan responded. "Usually, calling plays, you can ask for guys specifically in certain plays as a play caller, but no, you're not keeping guys fresh and rotating and doing stuff like that. Position coaches do that. But for him not to get in, I definitely should have noticed and asked for him (Mitchell)."
We'll see if McCaffrey gets more breathers when the 49ers host the New York Giants on Thursday. It's a short week for both teams, so substations may be critical in the game.
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