49ers RB Christian McCaffrey (oblique/rib), WR Deebo Samuel (shoulder) and LT Trent Williams (ankle) will NOT practice today, per Kyle Shanahan.

No surprise, as Williams and McCaffrey rarely practice on the first day of the week anyway. Tomorrow is a better indicator of progress.

Related Players: Elijah Mitchell, Jordan Mason

Another source following this tweet mentioned that Kyle Shanahan said that McCaffrey's MRI was "encouraging" and he should be considered day-to-day. We have to assume that his workload will at least be cut back if he plays in Week 7, but bench him at your own risk. We will keep an eye on Deebo Samuel's status for Friday's practice.

None of the injuries to 49ers’ standouts Christian McCaffrey (oblique), Deebo Samuel (shoulder) and Trent Williams (ankle) are considered long-term, per sources. Each has a chance to be ready for Monday night’s game at Minnesota, though the work week will help determine who can play and who can’t.

Of course the bad news for owners is the game is Monday night, so if Samuel and CMC are both game-time decisions, it could leave owners in a bind. Have a backup plan in place.

As I understand it, Christian McCaffrey's injury is more of a pain-tolerance thing. The extra day helps. At this point, it's not out of the question McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel and Trent Williams can all be available.

Related players: Jordan Mason, Elijah Mitchell

The bad news for owners of McCaffrey, and Samuel, is the game is a Monday night contest against the Vikings. Owners of both players will likely need a backup plan in place heading into this week as it's possible both players are game-time calls. According to other reports, McCaffrey's status is a bit more tenuous, as the team is still waiting for more information about McCaffrey, according to ESPN.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan gives injury updates on RB Christian McCaffrey (oblique/ribs) and WR Deebo Samuel (shoulder):

CMC is currently having an MRI.

Deebo will be day-to-day.

Related players: Elijah Mitchell, Jordan Mason, Tyrion Davis-Price

Unfortunately, it's not an impactful update... Fantasy owners will be waiting anxiously for further updates on McCaffrey's MRI results. While Samuel is day-to-day, he will be tough to trust even if he plays after he seemed to be a decoy just two weeks ago. If CMC can't go, Mitchell and Mason could split the workload. Mason has been good and scored another touchdown against the Browns with McCaffrey sidelined. It followed a 10-69-1 line on Oct. 8 in mop-up duty against the Cowboys. Mitchell was just back this past week but rushed two times for -3 yards.

49ers RB Christian McCaffrey is questionable to return with an oblique injury.

Update: McCaffrey has returned, so his time out was very short.

2nd update: McCaffrey went back to the locker room, but he jogged, so that may not be a bad sign.

The injuries keep piling up for the 49ers against the Browns. First Deebo Samuel and now Run CMC, who scored in an NFL-record 15th consecutive game. It's been a rough day offensively for the 49ers and now they have this to worry about. At the time of this writing, the Browns had just taken the lead with about 3 minutes left in the third quarter. This is one we will certainly closely monitor.

In the last 10 years, five running backs have been taken in the top 10. Four of the five (Saquon Barkley, Ezekiel Elliott, Leonard Fournette and Todd Gurley) had 229 carries or more in their rookie season. The fifth (Christian McCaffrey) had only 117 carries but added 80 catches. When teams draft backs in the top 10, like Bijan Robinson, they use them a lot.

Related players: Tyler Allgeier, Cordarrelle Patterson

The author went on to say Allgeier will still get plenty of use because the Falcons ran the ball an NFL-high 559 times last year. So even if Robinson carries the ball 250 times, there are still plenty of carries to go around. Patterson’s role is a little bit more of a mystery, the story added. He'll be third on the team in carries, according to the author, but how far back he’s going to be is a question mark. The prediction is Patterson's 144 carries from a year ago could get cut in half this season.

Christian McCaffrey said he dodged a bullet with his knee issue, said he’ll play in full Sunday. “I feel great,” he said.

Related Players: Tyrion Davis-Price, Jordan Mason

If CMC is a full go, Davis-Price and Mason are obsolete as anything more than a desperation play. McCaffrey should be considered an RB1, even if he's banged up.

Who rises in the running back rotation now that Elijah Mitchell will miss a substantial amount of time? Never underestimate Shanahan’s fondness for veteran Tevin Coleman, who is on the practice squad but had a pivotal role in the Week 5 win in Carolina.

Meanwhile, Shanahan continues to sing the praises of third-round pick Tyrion Davis-Price even though Price has been a healthy scratch since Week 7. Jordan Mason has been in uniform instead of Davis-Price because Mason is the better special-teamer and has become a stalwart on the kickoff and punt units.

Related players: Christian McCaffrey

The story said McCaffrey played about 65% of the snaps but is also dealing with some knee irritation. Ideally, the 49ers would like to keep McCaffrey around that mark, so the RB who is next up could certainly have some fantasy value with Mitchell sidelined again. In deeper leagues or dynasty leagues, Coleman could still be on your wire and may be worth a stash until this situation sorts itself out.

The 49ers hoped to avoid a long-term knee injury with Elijah Mitchell. They didn't. Mitchell is expected to miss 6-8 weeks, per head coach Kyle Shanahan. Meanwhile, the 49ers will manage Christian McCaffrey's "knee irritation" during the week.

Related Players: Jordan Mason, Tyrion Davis-Price

The injury bug continues to live rent-free inside the 49ers backfield. Stay tuned for what exactly "knee irritation" means, but Tyrion Davis-Price should be nabbed off of waiver wires wherever he is available for the fantasy playoffs. Davis-Price is no longer going to be healthy-scratched and needs to be on all fantasy rosters moving forward in case he becomes the de facto RB1 in San Francisco's offense.

My guess is that Elijah Mitchell and Christian McCaffrey will be the main runners with Mitchell getting early-down carries and McCaffrey having more of a change-of-pace and third-down role.

Related players: Deebo Samuel

McCaffrey was getting 85 percent of the snaps for Carolina. The author said he can’t imagine the 49ers want his snap counts that high, and the hope seems to be that he and the oft-injured Mitchell will save each other wear and tear. In another question from the mailbag, the author said they could turn to a thunder-and-lightning-and-thunder combination of Samuel, McCaffrey and Mitchell.