The 49ers traded for a running back this week as they acquired Brian Robinson Jr. from the Washington Commanders, and then got a decent performance from another as Jeff Wilson Jr. made his case for a place on the 53-man roster.
Wilson went at 3.7 yards per carry as he finished with 41 yards and a touchdown in the 49ers’ exhibition win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
He would seemingly have a tough task to crack the roster following Robinson’s arrival with Christian McCaffrey starting and Isaac Guerendo and Jordan James also among those hoping for consistent regular-season snaps.
Shanahan confirmed the 49ers acquired Robinson to be their primary backup to McCaffrey in his postgame press conference after the win over the Chargers.
“We brought him here to be our two back,” Shanahan said of Robinson. “Always been a big fan of Brian. Loved him coming out of college. He’s done really well going against him and we were pumped that he was available and we were pumped that we were able to get him.”
Yet Shanahan was also very complimentary of Wilson, who is in his second spell with the team after two-and-a-half seasons with the Miami Dolphins. Wilson was traded to Miami after the 49ers acquired McCaffrey in 2022.
On Wilson’s odds of making the roster, Shanahan said:
“Jeff’s got a shot. I mean, love Jeff, one of my favorite players over the years and it was great to get him back in here. Thought he’s done a good job and gotten better each week just getting back into camp. Thought he made some good cuts tonight and definitely is going to make it hard on us. Jeff got better each week he was here and thought he ran like his old self today. We love Jeff, and he’s going to make that real hard on us, so we’ll have a tough decision with him on Tuesday.”
Wilson may be down the pecking order in terms of the depth chart, but Shanahan places a lot of value in backs on whom he knows he can rely. With James still described as “week-to-week” with a broken finger, the reliability Wilson brings could be critical. Considering the 49ers are dealing with an injury crisis at wide receiver that will likely see them start the season with no more than five on the active roster, there’s a chance the 49ers could carry five backs on the 53 instead.
A more realistic possibility is that the 49ers try to sneak Wilson onto the practice squad or place James on an injury list to start the year. Still, Shanahan knows how quickly injuries can rack up at running back, which is why the 49ers have tended to carry at least four on the roster. As the 49ers make the difficult decisions that come with cutdown day, don’t be surprised if they go with the extra insurance of a fifth back this time around.
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