Beat: Jordan James ‘appears to be’ RB2 behind CMC

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan broke the news this afternoon. This is a bummer. Earlier this month, The Athletic’s Vic Tafur said he believed Guerendo was “buried” on the depth chart and will likely “be looking for a new team” at some point. The team could end up releasing him with an injury settlement, but we suppose some sort of reserve list placement is possible. 49ers RBs Jordan James and Kaelon Black can be expected to compete for RB2 duties at this time. The team also signed RBs Jordan Mims and Jermar Jefferson today.

Shockingly and inexplicably the second running back off the draft board in the 2026 NFL Draft, Black out of Indiana appears to be a solid-enough blocker who might earn snaps behind Christian McCaffrey this season. Jordan James, Barrow added, remains the likely RB2 behind McCaffrey. Black’s blocking ability “won’t make him popular in fantasy football circles, but it’s something a rookie needs to prove before he gets meaningful snaps.” In 32 pass-blocking opportunities in 2025, Black did not allow a quarterback hit while giving up two QB pressures. If he proves himself a reliable blocker in training camp, Black could see significant snaps in the 49ers offense.

Black is expected to compete with second-year RB Jordan James in training camp for the primary backup role. James, 22, played just three offensive snaps last year, though The Athletic’s Vic Tafur said in February that “it seems like the 49ers have big plans” for him this season. Black, 24, is the latest in a long list of running backs drafted by the 49ers in the mid rounds. The 49ers’ results in this effort have not been great, but perhaps Black is the player who makes it all worth it. He scored 10 touchdowns in the Hoosiers’ championship run last year.

Same. After Kaelon Black was added in the third round, it seems like he’ll be the real competitor for Jordan James in the backup spot. Guerendo didn’t exactly play poorly when given a chance, but the 49ers simply have to draft a running back every year per unspoken NFL guidelines. If Guerendo is released, he could be an interesting reclamation project elsewhere.

Black (5’9”/208) spent his six-year college career with head coach Curt Cignetti, joining him at James Madison in 2020, and then transferring to Indiana in 2024 when the Hoosiers hired Cignetti to be their coach. During Indiana’s 2025 national championship run, Black split duties with Roman Hemby, but still managed to rush for 1,040 yards and 10 touchdowns on 186 carries. Black saw 158 of his carries come on first or second down, per TruMedia, and converted four of his 20 carries inside the opponents’ five-yard line into scores. He’s a physical back who doesn’t shy away from contact and pushes to pick up every yard before the play is dead. He caught a career-high 25 passes during his 2023 season at James Madison, but managed just nine receptions on 12 targets in his two seasons at Indiana. In San Francisco Black will struggle to carve out any sort of consistent role unless the Niners struggle with backfield injuries.

We’d heard that they’d had “big plans” for James, but this is more concrete. 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan said Isaac Guerendo “wasn’t the team’s second best runner” last year and “fell behind James in that category by the end of the season.” It seems the 49ers believe in Guerendo more as a pass-catcher, but they only have two healthy backs up as an operating principle. James didn’t have much of a regular season, but did have six rushes for 28 yards in garbage time against the eventual champion Seahawks in the Divisional Round. He’ll have some fantasy upside this year behind an aging Christian McCaffrey.

Taylor ran 39 times for 183 yards and a touchdown with the 49ers in 2024. He suffered a shoulder injury in that season, which would eventually require surgery. The procedure knocked him out of the 2025 season entirely. He will not return to San Francisco as a depth option and a special teamer.

It’s an interesting assertion because James rarely played this year, starting the season with a wrist injury and eventually playing only three offensive snaps in three active regular season games. However, James did close out the Divisional Round loss to the Seahawks with six carries for 28 yards and it appears he could seize the No. 2 role behind Christian McCaffrey if Brian Robinson walks in free agency. Isaac Guerendo, per Tafur, “seems like an easy cut” if Robinson returns.

James, who had been dealing with a wrist injury but is now in the clear, winds up as a healthy scratch along with Martin. The other four players were ruled out on Friday.

Before injuring his ankle in mid-August, Watkins was competing for one of the team’s top-four wide receiver roles. Training camp reports indicated that the rookie looked good. Watkins is unlikely to meaningfully contribute this week but wide receiver-needy fantasy managers can stash him on benches to see how things shake out in the short term. 49ers RB Jordan James (finger) and will also make his 2025 debut this week.