The San Francisco 49ers' decision to trade Jordan Mason to the Minnesota Vikings surprised many. Mason led the team in rushing yards last season, stepping up as Christian McCaffrey battled injuries.

Moving on from Mason speaks volumes about the team's confidence in Isaac Guerendo, a fourth-round pick from last year who flashed potential in his rookie season, averaging an impressive five yards per carry.


At the NFL's annual meeting in Florida on Tuesday, head coach Kyle Shanahan acknowledged that trading Mason wasn't ideal, but it came down to finances.

"Jordan's a very, very good player, but it was just with the price in the backfield, and where that was going with everything, having to tender him as a two (second round), knowing he would get taken, and where that price went, we had to do that financially," Shanahan said.

Still, the 49ers are excited about Guerendo's development.

"But Isaac, what you guys saw last year, Isaac's a big-play guy who can run hard," Shanahan said. "I was impressed, as a rookie, just how tough he competed, how hard he ran. He ran harder as the year went, which is a very good sign for guys, because if you run less hard as the year goes, you're probably not going to be running it too much in the future.

"So, I was impressed with the mentality he had. He's going to find a way to take care of his body so he can stay healthy and get through an NFL season, but I think the future is bright for him and will just continue to go in the right direction."


Trading Mason also signals optimism about McCaffrey's health. The All-Pro running back missed the first eight games of last season due to Achilles tendinitis and returned for just four games before a PCL injury ended his year. Despite that, the 49ers aren't ruling out adding another running back in the 2025 NFL Draft.

"I think you always hope to address it every year," Shanahan said. "I mean, yeah, of course we're set with McCaffrey, but every single year that we've gone through this, except for two years, we've gone through four running backs. And most teams do, so you've always got to be prepared for that."

He added, "But Christian's healthy, he's doing great. We got Isaac in there, working. [We're] pumped to get Patrick [Taylor] back, and we'll see if we add someone in the draft. But you'd like to add one every year."



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