Jordan Mason is Questionable for Saturday with a Hamstring Injury

Now, the 49ers don't necessarily have a clear-cut No. 2 running back.

This is a surprise.

Jordan Mason injured his hamstring Wednesday during practice and had to leave. Now the 49ers list him as questionable to play Saturday against the Washington Commanders. 

It's unclear how severe Mason's injury is, but it seems unlikely the 49ers would push him to play through a soft-tissue injury just a few days after pulling it, especially considering they already clinched the division and the No. 3 seed.

"Anybody who has an injury that could risk them for the following week -- definitely rest them," head coach Kyle Shanahan said this week.

Which means there's a significant chance Mason won't play on Saturday. And Mason has been the 49ers' most explosive and consistent runner this season -- he's averaging an outrageous 6.6 yards per carry. And while the 49ers don't give him a ton of carries, the past few weeks he had established himself as the clear-cut No. 2 running back behind Christian McCaffrey.

Now, the 49ers don't necessarily have a clear-cut No. 2 running back. Instead, they'll have rookie Ty Davis-Price who's averaging 2.3 yards per carry, and veteran Tevin Coleman who's averaging 2.2 yards per carry. One of those two will have to play, because the 49ers probably don't want to give McCaffrey a huge workload until the playoffs.

It will be interesting to see how the 49ers run game performs if Mason can't go. Because if the 49ers don't run the ball well and can't use play action and Purdy has to drive the offense as a drop-back passer against a talented defensive line, the 49ers could be in trouble.

This game will be the 49ers' biggest test until the postseason.