The San Francisco 49ers are dealing with some injury setbacks. Running back Christian McCaffrey was recently placed on injured reserve, and wide receiver Deebo Samuel is expected to miss a couple of weeks due to a calf strain. While it's not ideal for a team with Super Bowl aspirations, there's no need to panic just yet.
However, 49ers insider Matt Barrows of The Athletic recently responded to fan questions, one of which asked him to overreact to the team's current predicament following a loss to the Minnesota Vikings and speculate on a potential trade.
Barrows focused on bolstering the running back room.
"I made this point on Twitter last week, but the 49ers need a reliable running back while the Miami Dolphins seem to need a quarterback," Barrows wrote in the recent mailbag feature. "The Dolphins have an abundance of runners who are in the same offense as San Francisco's while the 49ers have two backup quarterbacks who are about equal in the eyes of Shanahan and who could quickly slide into Mike McDaniel's attack."
The Dolphins placed Tua Tagovailoa on injured reserve after the quarterback suffered another concussion. They signed veteran quarterback Tyler Huntley from the Baltimore Ravens' practice squad on Monday, with Skylar Thompson set to start Week 3 in Tagovailoa's absence.
Barrows proposed trade scenarios of Josh Dobbs for Raheem Mostert or Brandon Allen for Jeff Wilson Jr.
"Who says no?" Barrows playfully added.
For now, the 49ers are in capable hands with Jordan Mason as the temporary lead back. Mason has started two games this season, surpassing 100 rushing yards in each. His 247 rushing yards place him second in the NFL, behind J.K. Dobbins of the Los Angeles Chargers, who has 266 yards.
However, the depth behind Mason includes rookie Isaac Guerendo and Patrick Taylor, so it wouldn't be too surprising if the 49ers looked to add some experience to the running back room.
