Elijah Mitchell News

Mitchell suffered injuries to both of his knees at different points of the season, resulting in a loss of 12 games in addition to his starting role. The 24-year-old remained productive backing up Christian McCaffrey with a healthy 6.2 yards per-carry average when healthy. Mitchell did suffer a groin injury during the 49ers' playoff run, but it was considered minor at the time. The standout 2021 sixth-round pick remains under contract for the 2023 campaign, putting him in position to spell McCaffrey if health permits.

San Francisco 49ers running back Elijah Mitchell (ankle) has been ruled out of Sunday's NFC Championship against the Philadelphia Eagles. Mitchell has been downgraded from questionable to out and will be inactive for Sunday's showdown with the Eagles. In a matchup versus an Eagles' defense allowing 20.1 FanDuel points per game to running backs, expect Jordan Mason and Christian McCaffrey to see more touches with Mitchell sidelined. McCaffrey's NFP Championship game projection includes 62.3 rushing yards, 35.4 receiving yards, 0.68 total touchdowns, and 16.2 FanDuel points. His salary is $9,000.

Mitchell approached the game listed as questionable after not practicing this past week, and he'll be unavailable Sunday, which sets the stage for Jordan Mason and Tevin Coleman to log complementary snaps behind top running back Christian McCaffrey, with the versatile Deebo Samuel also mixing in. If the 49ers defeat the Eagles, Mitchell's next chance to see game action will arrive Feb. 12 in the Super Bowl.

Both Mitchell and Christian McCaffrey (calf) were held out of drills Wednesday and Thursday, but only McCaffrey showed enough Friday to be cleared ahead of Sunday's contest. Coach Kyle Shanahan told Cam Inman of The San Jose Mercury News that Mitchell did take part in Friday's walkthrough and also individual drills, but the 49ers aren't yet ready to afford him the same luxury as McCaffrey. Mitchell's status thus won't be known until 90 minutes before Sunday's 3:00 p.m. ET kickoff. If Mitchell is limited or sidelined, Deebo Samuel (ankle), Jordan Mason, Tyrion Davis-Price and practice-squad member Tevin Coleman are the candidates to get reps at running back behind McCaffrey.

San Francisco 49ers running back Elijah Mitchell (ankle) is questionable to play in Sunday's Conference Championship contest against the Philadelphia Eagles. Mitchell's status is currently in the air after San Francisco's running back logged a DNP on Thursday and a limited session on Friday. In a matchup versus an Eagles' defense allowing 20.1 FanDuel points per game to running backs, expect Jordan Mason to see more touches if Mitchell is ruled out. Mitchell's current projection includes 7.7 rushing attempts for 35.4 yards and 0.7 receptions for 3.5 yards.

If Mitchell eventually goes down as a non-participant for a third straight session, it'll be interesting to see how the 49ers list him ahead of Sunday's NFC Championship Game in Philadelphia. On a positive note for San Francisco, though, Christian McCaffrey (calf) was taking part in drills Friday, one day removed from telling Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area that there's "zero" chance he doesn't play this weekend. Assuming McCaffrey eventually is cleared for the contest and some or all of Mitchell's reps are available, Deebo Samuel (ankle), Jordan Mason, Tyrion Davis-Price and practice-squad member Tevin Coleman are the candidates to mix in at running back behind McCaffrey.