Jordan Mason Credit: San Francisco 49ers
NFLBy Sean Keeley on

Before the Monday Night Football matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and New York Jets, there was a surprise announcement that star 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey would not be active for the game.

This came after McCaffrey declared Friday that he had no doubt he would play on Monday.

Still, no McCaffrey, no problem. Running back Jordan Mason stepped into the starting role and ran with it, literally. The undrafted free agent ran for 147 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries in his first NFL start, leading San Francisco to a 32-19 victory over Aaron Rodgers and the Jets.

Afterward, Mason was asked by Lisa Salters when he found out he was going to be starting.

“When did I find out? Maybe Friday. Friday night. Something like that,” said Mason.

Uh-oh. If that’s true, that would be a violation of NFL rules surrounding injury status reporting and the league will undoubtedly want to investigate (to say nothing of how many bettors and fantasy football players are pissed off).

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked about Mason’s admission at his post-game presser and he told a different story.

“I never told Jordan he was gonna start,” said Shanahan. “I told him he had to be ready a bunch, but that might have been Bobby or somebody trying to pump him up, but, uh, I knew he was gonna have to play a lot. I told him that it wasn’t gonna be like usual. He was gonna be a No. 2 back that was splitting a lot of the time. But no, he didn’t know for sure he was doing that til today.”

Shanahan was then asked if McCaffrey had a setback on Friday, which the coach denied. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported before the game that McCaffrey “pulled himself out of practice” on Friday but was still expected to start until he came in Monday and his calf was still tight.

Mason then took to the podium for his official post-game presser and was asked again when he was told he’d be starting. Apparently, someone had a little conversation with Mason between his first answer and this one and his demeanor was quite different this time around.

“That question right there is why I’m mad,” said Mason when asked when he was told he’d be starting. “That’s why I don’t like really talking to media cause you say one thing wrong and then, y’know… I don’t know. Just skip that question.”

So what’s the truth? It’s pretty hard to tell at the moment. But it does seem like Mason’s amazing evening ends on a sour note as the questions about when he found out he would be starting are only getting started.

[CJ Fogler, Coach Speak Index]

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Editorial Strategy Director for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.

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