Any concern for 49ers rookie running back Kaelon Black being considered limited during Thursday’s practice due to a groin injury can be tossed out the window.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan was interviewed by Adam Copeland and Derek Papa on KNBR in San Francisco and told them he’s not worried about Black missing their Week 2 game against the Dolphins.
“No, I think we’re just being smart with him,” Shanahan said. “It was a little tight today, so we didn’t want to push him too hard.”
The concern for Black’s injury comes after he took most of the team’s snaps at running back during the team’s eye-opening 27-7 victory against the Rams in Melbourne, Australia.
Shanahan admitted after practice that he was surprised that Black had a majority of the workload over Christian McCaffrey, who had 10 carries for 68 yards.
“That’s just kind of how the game went,” Shanahan said. “It probably has to do with probably starting out the game with three runs in the first 17 plays.”
Black was impressive in his NFL debut, carrying the ball 14 times for 65 yards and three first downs.
“I love taking some off Christian,” Shanahan said. “Love that Kaelon was prepared for everything. The run game and the pass game and allowed us to be able to do that.”
Another reason why Black probably edged McCaffrey in the workload last week was also because the 49ers had a 24-7 lead during the final 13 minutes of the fourth quarter.
With a commanding lead late in the game, seeing Black take over most of the snaps should be a familiar trend for the 49ers this season. McCaffrey is a week into his 10th NFL season at 30 years old and has already had a long list of injuries, including an Achilles injury two years ago.
During training camp, McCaffrey missed time due to tightness in his calf.
Known for being a physical, downhill running back, Black is only 24 years old, weighing 208 pounds, and was taken in the third round of the NFL draft out of Indiana this past spring.
During the Hoosiers’ national championship season last year, he was their lead running back, appearing in all 16 games, running the ball 186 times for 1,040 yards and 10 touchdowns.
