Kyle Shanahan has quite the dilemma in his hands! After a dilapidated 6-11 record left them scrambling, a roster revamp is surely on the cards. But that also means putting names on the chopping block even if you don’t want to. While the front office seems taken with Brody Purdy’s contract extension conversations, there’s also another dicey situation lurking in the shadows. For those still confused, we’re talking about running back Jordan Mason…

Yes, the same Mason who replaced 2023 rushing yards leader Christian McCaffrey in Week 1, after the latter spent weeks 1-8 on injured reserve—appearing in just four games—with Achilles injuries in both legs. The same Mason who had a breakout 2024 season where he rushed 153 times for 789 yards (5.2 YPC) and three touchdowns, in his first season as a Niners starter. The same Mason who did more than what was expected of him. But here’s the twister:

The running back had signed a three-year, $2.5 million contract in 2022. And now the 49ers are in a fix. Cut, trade, or keep. The 49ers reportedly have a March 11 deadline to decide what to do with the RB—set to be a restricted free agent. Now there are four paths that the front office can take: They can either place a first-round tender on him at $7.4 million, place a second-round tender for $5.3 million, or apply the “right of first refusal” clause for $3.2 million, after another team makes an offer, to retain Mason. Or they could also let him walk. But there’s still a problem…

According to The San Francisco Standard reporter David Lombardi on March 6, many teams in the league are reportedly in the running (pun intended) to acquire the player. “If Mason signs [the second round tender] as he would have to sign it, unless another team offered more money…Then the 49ers could trade him, maybe even for more than a fifth round pick. The tender process is…very beneficial to the 49ers because it’s [the] ultimate insurance,” he said before confirming the dicey situation that looms ahead…

“If you offer the second round tender, and another team comes in and offers Jordan Mason more money…and the 49ers, with the right of first refusal…say, ‘No, we don’t want to pay him that much money’. The 49ers would get a second-round pick back in return for Jordan Mason. So you would create a worst-case scenario of a second-round pick in return for a running back, who, you know, some metrics indicate was running as well as Derrick Henry last season before he got hurt. Not the same type of all-around game as Derrick Henry, but Jordan Mason was running extremely violently, and this was happening before 2024 as well.” But why the problem exactly?

Well, the 49ers are unlikely to offer the running back a first-round tender, for over $7 million. Even other teams are almost guaranteed to not forfeit a first-round pick to sign Mason. And we already know the path the second-round tender will take. The only option that seems to be left is a right of first refusal at $3.2 million or letting him leave. But, even these last two options will not garner the 49ers any draft picks. What’s more? The team already signed McCaffrey to a two-year, $38 million extension before the 2024 campaign (a league-high running back salary of $19 million per season), and do not have the luxury to offer much money to their other RB.

Well, the team has found itself in quite the pickle, which the team’s GM John Lynch also acknowledged.

Talking to reporters during the NFL Scouting Combine, the GM said, “We can low tender him because he wasn’t drafted, but then you get nothing if someone makes an offer to him and you don’t match. You can do the second round tender, or you can just agree to a deal. There are a number of different options that we’re exploring. Jordan played at a really good level when Christian McCaffrey was out, so we’ll see where that goes.”

Notably, the San Francisco 49ers have already traded WR Deebo Samuel. Brandon Aiyuk is also expecting offers.

Among this hurry of trading up their players, they also have options of signing other players. The most recent includes their LB Nick Bosa‘s elder brother, Joey Bosa.

Kyle Shanahan is interested in Joey Bosa

On March 5, the LA Chargers sent shock waves into the football world by releasing their star LB Joey Bosa. The injuries were a big reason. It was a backstabbing by Chargers GM Joe Hortiz, who had claimed a few days ago that they would keep him. But the player has moved on.

NFL’s Ian Rapoport and ESPN’s Nick Wagoner have already revealed the destination for the LB. They both claimed that Kyle Shanahan & co. could give an offer to the linebacker. Now it depends on Joey Bosa if he wants to accept it. His mother, Cheryl, will want him to sign.

Just hours after the news broke out, she requested the fans to start a petition for the 49ers to sign him. Joey Bosa is a record holder. He was the fastest to reach 50 sacks for the Chargers (67 games) and the second most sacks in franchise history (72). But the 49ers’ HC bore the brunt of injured players. Will he sign another injury-riddled player? It could happen, given they have been hyper-aggressive in the free agency.