Breakout RB lands 49ers in hot water regarding Christian McCaffrey injury

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey was a surprising late scratch for the team's Week 1 "Monday Night Football" game against the New York Jets.

Backup running back Jordan Mason did his best CMC impression, piling up a career-high 147 rushing yards and a touchdown on 28 carries to lead the Niners to a 32-19 victory.

After the win, ESPN's Lisa Salters asked Mason when he knew he'd be starting against Gang Green, to which the 25-year-old replied, "Maybe Friday, Friday night. Something like that."

San Francisco didn't label McCaffrey as "questionable" with his calf and Achilles injuries until Saturday; however, fans and media members wondered if the team was intentionally leaving them (and New York) in the dark.

During his postgame news conference, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said he "never told Jordan he was gonna start."

“Told him he had to be ready a bunch. But it might have been [running backs coach] Bobby [Turner] or somebody trying to pump him up. But I knew he was gonna have to play a lot. Told him that it wasn’t gonna be like usual," Shanahan said, according to a report by Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio .

The eighth-year coach explained that the team decided to sit McCaffrey due to the "same stuff that was bothering him all week," which was a "game-time decision."

At some point following his interview with Salters, another reporter asked Mason when he found out that he'd start in place of the three-time Pro Bowler. The Georgia Tech product said he was upset with the question.

"That question right there is why I’m mad," Mason said, per a report by Pro Football Talk's Michael David Smith . "That’s why I don’t like really talking to the media, because you say one thing wrong, and then, you know — I don’t know. Just skip that question."

Multiple scenarios could have transpired over the last few days with the Niners.

Mason could've been telling the truth to Salters, meaning that Shanahan was fibbing during his interview with reporters and trying to cover the team's tracks for hiding McCaffrey's injury. Mason then may have been told that his comments to Salters could get the team in trouble for not fully disclosing McCaffrey's injury status, so he backtracked.

It's also possible that Shanahan was telling the truth, and perhaps Mason misunderstood if he was ever told that he'd be starting.

Either way, San Francisco will surely take the win and the breakout effort from the former undrafted free agent.