The 49ers caught the NFL world by surprise when star running back Christian McCaffrey was ruled out with an injury a mere 90 minutes before their "Monday Night Football" game against the Jets.
McCaffrey had been dealing with a calf and Achilles injury all preseason and entered the game with a "questionable" tag after logging limited practices all week.
However, at every checkpoint, McCaffrey and San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan seemed to assure that the reigning AP Offensive Player of the Year would be good to go for Week 1.
His absence caught the masses by surprise but backup running back Jordan Mason was clearly ready to step up. The undrafted third-year player out of Georgia Tech had a career game in the 49ers' win over the Jets , rushing for 147 yards and one touchdown in the interim starting role.
After the game, Mason may have accidentally confessed to an injury report violation during his postgame interview with Lisa Salters on "Monday Night Football."
Here's what the star of the night had to say.
MORE: 49ers easily handle Jets, spoiling Aaron Rodgers' return to the field
Did 49ers violate NFL injury report rules?
Mason was in the spotlight after his career night and the breakout star may have accidentally spoken out of turn in his postgame interview.
ESPN's Salters asked Mason when he found out that he'd be starting in the primetime season opener.
"When did I find out?" Mason said with a moment of thought. "Maybe Friday... Friday night. You know, something like that."
Whoops.
If Mason did indeed find out he was starting Friday and the 49ers failed to list McCaffrey as "out" on the injury report, they could face discipline from the NFL.
MORE: The latest updates on Christian McCaffrey's calf injury
Mason expressed frustration during his postgame media availability when he was asked the same question again.
"That question right there is why I'm mad," he said after a sigh.
"That's why I don't really like talking to the media, 'cause you say one thing wrong and then, you know... I don't know. Just skip that question."
As mentioned in the tweet above, coach Shanahan is trying to backpedal on his running back's statement, saying it isn't true that they knew Friday that McCaffrey wouldn't play.
MORE: Mason among top Week 2 fantasy waiver wire pickups
NFL injury report rules, explained
The NFL's injury report policy is broken down into three sections: The practice report, the game status report, and the in-game injury report.
"The policy requires that teams provide credible, accurate, and specific information about injured players to the league office, their opponents, local and national media, and the league’s broadcast partners each week during the regular season and postseason," per the NFL's official operations website.
"The reporting process is of paramount importance in maintaining the integrity of the game."
You can find specifics on the three sections below, directly from the NFL's rulebook.
- The Practice Report provides clubs and fans with an accurate description of a player’s injury status and how much he participated in practice during the week. If any player has a significant or noteworthy injury, it must be listed on the practice report, even if he fully participates in practice and the team expects that he will play in the team’s next game. This is especially important for key players whose injuries may be covered extensively by the media.
- The Game Status Report provides clubs and fans with an accurate description of a player’s availability for the club’s next game. Teams must notify the league, their opponent, local and national media, and the league’s broadcast partners of the status of their injured players by 4 p.m. ET the day before their next scheduled game.
- The In-Game Injury Report requires club personnel to report in-game injury information factually and accurately as soon as it is available. In-game injury updates must be disseminated to the broadcast partner, the media and the fans in the stadium at the same time. Clubs must post injury updates on the stadium video boards, scoreboards or ribbon boards so fans at NFL games are also informed.
Last season, the Falcons franchise and former head coach Arthur Smith were fined $75,000 and $25,000, respectively, for failing to list star rookie running back Bijan Robinson to the Week 7 injury report after finishing with just one carry for 11 yards.
It's possible the 49ers could face a similar fine if the NFL looks into their reporting of McCaffrey's injury.
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