The San Francisco 49ers have played games without Deebo Samuel Sr. in the last year and a half. And they’ve played games without Christian McCaffrey in the last year and a half.
But they’ve never played a game in that span without either Samuel or McCaffrey, a challenge for Kyle Shanahan’s offense Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams.
Shanahan said Wednesday that his playbook won’t necessarily contract without those players but conceded he’ll call plays differently.
“You eliminate some special things that you would only do for those guys, but the number (of plays) doesn’t change,” he said. “It’s just that there’s things those guys do very well. Nothing other guys can’t do. But there’s kind of different percentages on how much you call them and things like that.”
Samuel didn’t practice Wednesday, although he was seen walking around in the locker room and weight room without a limp. Shanahan said Samuel’s calf injury does not involve his Achilles tendon like McCaffrey’s does.
The issue is that McCaffrey and Samuel are the most versatile weapons in Shanahan’s arsenal. They’re adept in the running and passing game, forcing defenses to choose whether to counter them with defensive backs or linebackers and giving the 49ers more options with their attack. When McCaffrey was ruled out for Week 1 against the New York Jets, for example, the 49ers used Samuel as a McCaffrey-like change-of-pace option out of the backfield.
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So what do the 49ers do without both of them? How do they complement the hard-charging style of top tailback Jordan Mason, who hasn’t had much production as a third-down back? Here are their options …
Take a page from the past
This isn’t the first time the 49ers have faced a running back shortage early in the season. It also happened in 2018 when Jerick McKinnon, on track to be San Francisco’s do-everything back that season, tore his ACL just before Week 1.
His backup, Matt Breida, also battled injuries throughout the season, leading to a lot of games in which fullback Kyle Juszczyk became the de facto third-down back. For example, Juszczyk had six catches for 75 yards in an early-season loss to the Arizona Cardinals that season and finished with a career-high 324 receiving yards.
The 49ers already have been favoring Juszczyk while McCaffrey’s been out. He has eight targets and 59 receiving yards through two games. If he keeps up that pace, he’ll finish with a new career-high — 502 receiving yards.
Roll with a newcomer
The 49ers have other tailback and tailback-like players on the roster, though all of them have been lightly used at this point.
Isaac Guerendo certainly has the tools to be a change-of-pace option. The rookie is the team’s fastest running back and was named Indiana’s “Mr. Football” as a wide receiver. He initially was a receiver at Wisconsin before switching to running back, and he had 22 catches for 234 yards last season at Louisville.
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The issue with Guerendo is inexperience, which was exacerbated by a four-week-long hamstring injury this summer. Guerendo simply hasn’t taken many snaps with the 49ers and has just one carry — for no gain — so far this season.
Like a lot of young runners, Guerendo didn’t show enough patience on his lone carry Sunday, though Shanahan didn’t think it would have been a massive gain had he chosen the correct lane.
“(Mason) had one like that in the game, too,” Shanahan said. “With a remote in our hands, we all slow it down and see that, but I don’t think there was a big one there. If he would’ve kept pressing, I think he would’ve got 1 to 3 yards and tackled.”
Patrick Taylor Jr. has the most experience of the group. He’s been a backup runner for the Green Bay Packers for the last three seasons, which means he’s well-versed in the 49ers’ offensive scheme. However, he was mainly a special teams player in Green Bay and didn’t get a lot of opportunities as a pass catcher. His most prolific season came last year when he had 11 catches for 49 yards.
Patrick Taylor Jr. has NFL experience with the Packers, though mostly as a special teams player. (David Gonzales / Imagn Images)
The 49ers have used him in a similar way so far. He has eight snaps on special teams through two games, zero on offense.
Finally, rookie receiver Jacob Cowing could be an option. He lined up sporadically in Arizona’s backfield last season and is good on the jet sweeps and screens the 49ers like to give Samuel as a way to keep defenses moving laterally.
Like Taylor, however, the 49ers haven’t been eager to get him involved in the offense and he has no offensive snaps so far this season. At 168 pounds he’s also the 49ers’ smallest player and the 49ers likely are leery of over-using him — especially on carries — in a game.