The San Francisco 49ers have executed a trade with the Washington Commanders for Brian Robinson Jr. The move ends a period of uncertainty with the injuries the room has suffered through training camp. Notably, Patrick Taylor Jr. is out for the season, and Corey Kiner has been waived. The latter cleared waivers Thursday.
The last thing the 49ers want is a fresh Christian McCaffrey getting overused. So the Robinson trade makes sense for that alone. Then again, we thought that might be what Jordan Mason would be for, but either the 49ers didn’t use Mason (seasons before 2024) or they had to use Mason as the featured back while McCaffrey was sidelined (2024).
On paper, the 49ers running back trio for 2025 is:
- Christian McCaffrey
- Brian Robinson Jr.
- Isaac Guerendo
That’s a pretty nice little group. In 2024, the 49ers would have:
- Christian McCaffrey
- Isaac Guerendo
- Jordan Mason
And that’s the one thing: on paper. The injury bug is contagious in San Francisco. So we don’t know how this shakes out through the season. But when you look at the backs the 49ers have in 2025, do you think it’s stronger than 2024?
If stronger than 2024, you should also be praising the 49ers. They essentially traded Jordan Mason and two sixth-round picks to the NFL at large for Robinson for a fifth and a future sixth-round pick. Would it be nice to hold onto Mason? Sure. But he wants a larger role and much more money.
As for the Mason to Robinson comparisons, it’s a bit tricky; Mason played in 12 games, starting six, but also getting knocked out early in a couple of those games. He got 789 yards rushing on 153 attempts (5.2 yards per attempt).
It looks like Mason was more productive, but this was a result of the 49ers not having McCaffrey (along with other trusted bodies) for most of the season. Had McCaffrey been able to play, Mason’s yards rushing would most likely have been much lower. It’s safe to say there’s no comparison between Robinson and McCaffrey.
Robinson played in 14 games, started 13, and got 799 yards rushing on 187 attempts. (4.3 YPA) As KP pointed out, Robinson is far more efficient outside the tackles, so there’s some use the 49ers can have for him immediately.
Would you say this trio is better, or was the 2024 lineup a better one? We never got to see the 2024 trio’s potential, with everyone’s injuries getting in the way.
On paper, 2025 might be about even with what 2024 could’ve been healthy. The 49ers got lucky with Mason coming in for McCaffrey, but I feel we would have seen a much different three-headed beast had McCaffrey been healthy for the entire season. Given the 49ers’ use of Mason infuriated some fans before 2024, we don’t know if his potential would have been seen if McCaffrey was healthy for 14-17 games. If that was in mind, I think Robinson would have been a considerable upgrade.
But we saw Mason take advantage of his opportunity, and now he’s in Minnesota because of it. If experience is factored in, Guerrendo having another year would make this group much stronger—and we saw the wheels he had last year.
Which lineup do you think is stronger—paper?
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