Did 49ers accidentally reveal they broke NFL rules by starting Jordan Mason?

The San Francisco 49ers crushed the New York Jets in their season opener but this week's headlines will be about something not directly related to the match-up. Following the game, running back Jordan Mason was interviewed by ESPN's Lisa Salters and revealed that he knew he'd be starting this game on Friday.

While Mason didn't mean to cause problems with that answer, unfortunately, that's exactly what he did. You see, the NFL has a rule that teams can't hide injuries and this will likely lead to the 49ers being fined because they clearly knew that Christian McCaffrey wasn't going to play, even if no one else around the league knew.

Withholding information affects the NFL as a whole because of the betting market and fantasy football market, both of which need the injury info to be accurate so that betters and owners can act accordingly.

Typically, what a team might do in this situation is to slap the "Questionable" designation to a player. This allows them to say that player is a game-time decision and can throw the opponent off a bit. Well, the 49ers didn't add the "Questionable" tag to McCaffrey's designation until Saturday and if Mason was told he was starting on Friday... you get where this is going.

49ers are going to be in hot water after Jordan Mason's slip-up

McCaffrey did not play with what was listed as a calf injury and it's only the second game he's missed since joining the 49ers before the trade deadline in the 2022 season. He's been a workhorse for the Niners since his arrival but Jordan Mason did a nice job filling in for him, especially considering he had not started a game before.

Despite the former undrafted product's heroic performance, Mason was not happy with the media following the game. The poor guy was clearly uncomfortable when asked when he knew he'd be starting and decided to skip the question altogether, further indicating guilt.

It's hard to fault Mason for what he said during his postgame interview with Salters. He was coming off an incredible performance and maybe he wasn't told to keep his mouth shut about when he knew he'd get the start. The 49ers likely pulled him aside afterwards to scold him and that's why he had the sudden shift in attitude when asked the same question in his press conference.

As for what happens to the 49ers now, the NFL will likely investigate and if they find that the 49ers were withholding information about McCaffrey's injury, they'll be fined. For what it's worth, Kyle Shanahan said that he told Mason he'd be starting before the game and not on Friday.

Somebody is lying and this could get very, very interesting.