Controversy envelops San Francisco 49ers after Jordan Mason’s comments following career game

San Francisco 49ers running back Jordan Mason had the best game of his young career against the New York Jets on Monday Night Football . The undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech rushed for 147 yards and a touchdown, filling in for an injured and inactive Christian McCaffrey.

However, what Mason said after the game has stirred some controversy.

Jordan Mason sparks post-game controversy for San Francisco 49ers

Immediately following the game, ESPN reporter Lisa Salters asked Mason when he found out he was starting since McCaffrey was dealing with a calf and Achilles injury. Mason responded he learned “maybe Friday, Friday night.”

The problem? McCaffrey wasn’t on the injury report until Saturday, as he was a limited participant during practice last week. The All-Pro running back was listed as inactive 90 minutes before last night’s kickoff.

Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan refuted that Mason was told Friday he was going to start.

“I never told Jordan he was going to start. I told him that he had to be ready a bunch,” Shanahan said during his postgame press conference. “I knew he was going to have to play a lot. I told him it wasn’t going to be like usual.”

Shanahan added that McCaffrey, who has been dealing with the calf and Achilles injuries since training camp, did not have a setback on Friday and that he didn’t play as a precautionary measure.

“It was on and off throughout the week. He was able to practice throughout the week. It was always bothering him to a degree. Sometimes it goes away and sometimes it comes back,” Shanahan noted. “Today, it was bothering him a little too much to where we didn’t feel good about it.”

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Will Jordan Mason start again in Week 2?

It’s not yet known if McCaffrey will be ready for Week 2 against the 1-0 Minnesota Vikings.

Following Shanahan’s press conference, Mason was asked once again when he found out he was going to start. This time, the running back gave an exasperated answer.

“That question right there is why I’m mad. That’s why I don’t really like talking to media because you say one thing wrong, and then, you know. I don’t know, just skip that question,” Mason said.

The NFL doesn’t take kindly to teams withholding injury news to star players, especially with gambling and fantasy football being multibillion-dollar businesses. It remains to be seen if the NFL will take any disciplinary action against the Niners.

Related: Week 2 fantasy rankings: Best QB, RB, WR and TEs to start, sit this week

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