The 49ers’ headline trade for Christian McCaffrey might have caused some aftershocks.
While the team has at times struggled for running back depth over the past few seasons, especially after losing Elijah Mitchell at the start of this one, there’s now an abundance of depth.
McCaffrey leads a group of himself, Jeff Wilson Jr., rookies Ty Davis-Price and Jordan Mason and veteran Tevin Coleman (practice squad).
But with Mitchell, who has been seen active in his rehab, getting closer to a return, and with a bye coming up next week, the 49ers could look to make a move.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, teams have made calls on Wilson Jr. and the 49ers are “willing to listen” to offers.
Given the draft pick haul of a 2022 2nd-, 3rd-, 4th- and 2023 5th-round pick that San Francisco gave up for McCaffrey, they may be seeking to recoup some of what they lost by dealing Wilson.
If Mitchell comes back after the bye, it would be arguably the league’s best 1-2 running back punch, up there with the Browns Nick Chubb-Kareem Hunt pairing.
With a couple of promising rookies waiting in the wings and a veteran familiar with the system in Coleman on the practice squad, it’s not hard to see why the 49ers feel like they might have depth worth parting with in the running back room.