Isaac

Guerendo

Guerendo, still recovering from a pec injury, will miss at least the first four weeks of the regular season. This helps to clarify the Niners backfield situation headed into the season. Behind Christian McCaffrey will be some combination of Kaelon Black — who has drawn praise from coaches and QB Brock Purdy — and Jordan James, who missed most of training camp with a rib injury. Guerendo is a long way from playing time in the Niners offense.

This is just one reporter’s opinion, but 26-year-old Guerendo’s health has taken on increased importance after Jordan James suffered a broken rib in the opening days of camp. Guerendo’s Niners future is murky at best, but a quick healing process could earn him a small role behind workhorse Christian McCaffrey, as well as make it more likely he would be a part of the committee were CMC to ever miss time with injury.

Speaking to the media Saturday, 49ers general manager John Lynch said that Kittle, Alfred Collins, and Isaac Guerendo will be moved to the PUP list ahead of the start of camp but that he is “optimistic on all of them hitting the practice field sooner than later.” As a reminder, players can be moved from the PUP list at any point during camp, meaning the fact that they currently find themselves with that designation does not mean they will miss anything meaningful to their fantasy value in 2026.

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.

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.

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.

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.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero implicitly confirms the concern that McCaffrey did indeed suffer a new injury, saying the 49ers’ “opener against Seattle is on Sunday, just three days after the injury” occurred, removing the possibility that this was a precautionary measure due to some sort of muscle irritation. Pelissero previously reported that “alarm bells” are not going off within the 49ers’ facility, but the new injury-related phrasing is hardly comforting. For now, fantasy managers must prepare to be without McCaffrey, while hoping for the best. No. 2 RB Brian Robinson will be a top-18 option if McCaffrey is sidelined for Week 1. No. 3 RB Isaac Guerendo is worth adding in 12-team leagues, where available.

After missing several weeks with a shoulder injury and apparently falling out of favor with the Niners’ coaching staff, Isaac Guerendo will enter the season as the team’s RB3 behind Christian McCaffrey and Robinson, who was acquired on Friday in exchange for draft compensation. “We brought him here to be our (No.) 2 back,” Shanahan said of Robinson, who last year in Washington had 799 rushing yards and eight touchdowns as the Commanders’ lead back. “I’ve always been a big fan of Brian. Loved him coming out college... We were pumped that he was available and pumped that we were able to get him.” That’s as much confirmation as fantasy managers are going to need in understanding the San Francisco backfield pecking order. Robinson should be drafted in all fantasy formats in case McCaffrey misses time this season.

He missed just over two weeks with a shoulder injury. Guerendo should slot right back in as Christian McCaffrey’s main backup over Jeff Wilson going forward. It’s possible Guerendo gets a little run in the final preseason game to make sure he’s fully ready for the regular season.