The 49ers have had to navigate their preseason without starting running back Elijah Mitchell. They won’t have to go into the regular season without him though according to head coach Kyle Shanahan.
Shanahan on Tuesday after practice spoke to reporters and said Mitchell would return after the club’s preseason finale in Houston on Thursday.
“Yeah he does seem on schedule,” Shanahan said. “We won’t get him this week, but things are looking to have him back for Week 1.”
San Francicso’s preseason probably wouldn’t look much different without Mitchell given how much rest their starters have gotten. However, his absence has opened the door to additional practice reps for other running backs like Trey Sermon, Jeff Wilson Jr., JaMycal Hasty, rookie third-round pick Tyrion Davis-Price and undrafted rookie Jordan Mason.
The 49ers will have some tough decisions to make in their backfield when they cut their roster from 80 players down to 53, but Mitchell landing atop the RB depth chart is a no-brainer. Given his workload last year and prior to his injury in camp he’s the clear No. 1 running back. The club could aim to lighten his workload some and move his 18.8 carries per game down toward the 15-carry range.
Mitchell coming back for the opener is good news for San Francisco though, even with some quality depth behind him. In 11 games last year he posted 963 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns on 207 carries. If he’s healthy and as productive as he was last season, the 49ers should once again have one of the NFL’s best rushing attacks.
