Second-year running back Elijah Mitchell is expected to play a big role for the San Francisco 49ers in 2022. A sixth-round pick out of Louisiana last year, Mitchell opened the 2022 season as San Francisco’s starting running back in a backfield that includes young quarterback Trey Lance.
Unfortunately, Mitchell might now be out for some time. The star back suffered a knee injury in the second quarter of Sunday’s season opener against the Chicago Bears and was ruled out for the remainder of the game.
It’s not exactly known how Mitchell injured his knee. But the fact that he was ruled out so quickly is concerning. Prior to going down with the injury, Mitchell had put up 41 yards on six attempts. There’s also some concern that the conditions inside a rain-soaked Soldier Field could have played a role here.
With Mitchell sidelined, Jeff Wilson Jr. will assume RB1 duties for San Francisco. At least on Sunday, he’s being backed up by undrafted rookie free agent Jordan Mason. The Georgia Tech product was a surprise active over rookie third-round pick Tyrion Davis-Price on Sunday.
To say that this could be a big loss for San Francisco would be an understatement. Despite some injury issues, Mitchell was electric as a rookie for the 49ers in 2021.
- Elijah Mitchell stats (2021): 963 rushing yards, 19 receptions, 137 receiving yards 6 TD, 4.9 yards per touch
From a fantasy perspective, Wilson would become a solid waiver-wire addition should Mitchell be sidelined for the long haul. The former undrafted rookie from North Texas scored 15 combined touchdowns on 169 touches from 2019-20 before dealing with injuries himself last season.
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