Are the 49ers really going to trade for a running back? Apparently that scenario is not so far fetched.
That’s despite the team drafting two rookie running backs in Elijah Mitchell and Trey Sermon, and with JaMycal Hasty’s practice window open after suffering a high ankle sprain against the Eagles.
While the two rookies are healthy and Hasty is on his way back, according to ESPN’s Josina Anderson, the team has expressed some interest in Colts running back Marlon Mack.
Mack has been on the Colts’ trade block since the start of the season and has seen his usage drop massive after the team drafted Jonathan Taylor out of Wisconsin in 2020. He previously rushed for 908 yards in 2018 and 1,091 yards in 2019.
It’s an open-ended report, given that they are referred to as “preliminary inquiries” and “over the last few weeks.” That could be as simple as the 49ers checking in on Mack’s status, especially as they went through their dire running back situation, when they brought in a haul of running backs for a few weeks.
The wild card in all this is Jeff Wilson Jr., who suffered a freak meniscus tear this offseason. Kyle Shanahan’s most recent update was that Wilson Jr. was supposed to return in late November.
But NBC Sports’ Matt Maiocco thinks that might not be the case, and could influence the 49ers’ interest, especially given Sermon’s failure to impress thus far.
“I guess it all depends on what the price tag is,” Maiocco said. “The reason that I think that could make sense is because I’m not sure that they expect to see Jeff Wilson back. Through a lot of the season, through the offseason, through training camp, through the first couple weeks of the season, I think they felt like Jeff Wilson could have potentially been back midseason. And now that date is being pushed back to late November, that just doesn’t leave you much wiggle room there… I would think that Marlon Mack is the kind of runner that the 49ers could definitely use at this point.”
Listen to the full interview below: