The San Francisco 49ers are taking no chances ahead of their NFC Championship Game clash against the Philadelphia Eagles. With running back Elijah Mitchell questionable to play with a groin injury and star halfback Christian McCaffrey nursing a calf injury, the 49ers promoted running back Tevin Coleman to the active roster from the practice squad, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.
The 49ers also promoted cornerback Janoris “Jackrabbit” Jenkins to the active roster, as fellow defensive back Ambry Thomas is listed as questionable with an ankle injury.
Of course, most 49ers fans will be concerned with the Mitchell injury, which held him out of practice all week.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan had expressed optimism that Mitchell would be out there for the NFC Championship Game, though it certainly looks like he's on the wrong side of the questionable tag.
Mitchell is the 1B to McCaffrey's 1A, though the 49ers leaned on the former in their Divisional Round victory over the Dallas Cowboys to the tune of 14 carries for 51 rushing yards.
The 49ers are likely to lean on the running game in the NFC Championship Game against the Eagles, who had some struggles defending the ground game this season.
With McCaffrey dealing with the calf injury, someone is going to get a decent workload behind him- and that someone could be Tevin Coleman.
Coleman, 29, played under Shanahan with the Atlanta Falcons in his first two years in the league, then reunited with the 49ers coach in 2019 and 2020.
Coleman has enjoyed success in the postseason too, as he rumbled for over 100 yards and two scores in a Divisional Round victory over the Minnesota Vikings back in 2020.
The 49ers might need some more of that Coleman magic on Sunday if Mitchell is out.