San Francisco 49ers

49ers coach makes bold statement on Isaac Guerendo replacing Christian McCaffrey

Posted on by newssite

When Christian McCaffrey landed on IR with a potentially season-ending PCL injury, it instantly turned Isaac Guerendo into one of the most important players on the San Francisco 49ers’ roster.

Beginning the year as RB2 behind Jordan Mason, who also landed on IR, the round 4 pick out of Louisville turned in some good tape as a speedy change-of-pace back, including a 99-yard game against the Seattle Seahawks, but was never supposed to be more than that when the team was fully healthy.

Fortunately for Guerendo – and unfortunately for the 49ers – that is no longer the case, as the rookie is expected to earn his first-ever start in Week 14 against the Chicago Bears.

A tough task? You bet, but in the opinion of the running game coordinator, Chris Foerster, Guerendo is up for the task, as the 49ers have made it his mission to get ready for when his number gets called.

“Oh, he is more than ready. That’s been the good thing. Not having to jump in right away. You guys heard that, I liked him from the beginning. The kid had that burst, that quickness and he’s been able to be eased into it, not easing right now. So you still have to be careful, he hasn’t played a full load in an NFL game up to this point,” Foerster told reporters.

“Now is he going to be able carry the load for all four quarters like [RB] Christian [McCaffrey] has done in the past or not? I don’t know that we’ll have to see as we go. And the other guys, 32’s [RB Patrick Taylor Jr.] been here for a good while. 31’s done a good job. Obviously, we’re excited for Isaac, and we’ll see how it plays out. But it’s definitely going to be a challenge for us and challenge for him because he’s going to have to tote the mail for us, and he’s going to have to do a lot of things over a longer period of time than he’s done it up to this point.”
With just 42 carries to his credit as a pro, Guerendo is a relative unknown heading into Week 14. While that might feel daunting for fans, it’s ultimately good news for 49ers fans, as they might be able to get the jump on Chicago like they did with Mason in Week 1.

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