Third-year running back Isaac Guerendo already appears to be on thin ice with regard to his spot on the San Francisco 49ers roster.
A year removed from being withheld from all offensive snaps, the former Louisville product then watched as the Niners used a third-round draft pick on running back Kaelon Black, further diminishing the former's likelihood of claiming a roster spot in 2026, let alone a substantial role on the depth chart.
Then, more bad news.
Speaking from the opening week of organized team activities, head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters Guerendo suffered a pectoral injury lifting weights earlier this offseason, and the tailback isn't expected to return from the setback until the end of training camp.
Sounds like a potential end of his San Francisco tenure, right?
Well, not exactly.
Isaac Guerendo's injury could ultimately be a secret blessing for 49ers tenure
True, Shanahan might be wholly done with Guerendo, and last year is a pretty good indicator of such—then-rookie Jordan James received more meaningful snaps than Guerendo.
Yet the injury could prompt Shanahan and the 49ers to proverbially punt on whatever Guerendo decision they may face at the end of summer. To open up a spot on the 90-man offseason roster, the rusher will likely find himself on the physically unable-to-perform (PUP) list in the interim. And if he stays there into the regular season, the Niners would have to keep him on an injured list for at least the first four games of the year.
It's not necessarily great news for Guerendo getting back into Shanahan's good graces, but it at least opens up the possibility for an in-season redemption. No one knows how San Francisco's running back depth chart will look after four weeks, particularly with Christian McCaffrey at age 30 and the depth behind him being awfully fluid.
In effect, stashing Guerendo for four weeks might actually save his San Francisco career rather than him being part of pre-Week 1 roster cuts, had he been healthy.
Of course, that context could change between now and the regular season, and Guerendo might ultimately be healthy enough to return by then, only to find himself part of roster cuts.
Still, the injury might've just salvaged his 49ers tenure.
Add us as a preferred source on Google