SANTA CLARA, Calif. — San Francisco 49ers in decline Elijah Mitchell was unable to play in Friday’s preseason opener against the Green Bay Packers due to a hamstring injury and was unable to miss all three of the team’s preseason games.
After Friday’s 28-21 win against the Packers, Niners coach Kyle Shanahan said Mitchell is dealing with a hamstring injury and will not be playing in next week’s game against the Minnesota Vikings.
The same goes for cornerback Charvarius Ward, who also struggles with a strained hamstring.
“Both had soft tissue injuries,” Shanahan said. “They won’t be available next week. We’ll see the week after that.”
Mitchell and Ward are expected to be ready for the regular season opener on September 11 against the Chicago Bears.
During the first two weeks of camp, Mitchell had resumed the role he had taken on last season as San Francisco’s starting running back. With Mitchell out, the 49ers will turn to a group that includes Trey Sermon, rookie Tyrion Davis-Price and JaMycal Hasty to handle the exhibit.
Sermon started Friday, finishing with six carries for 11 yards. Davis-Price got the most work, leading the team with 10 tries for 36 yards. Hasty also had 36 yards on five carries.
Veteran back Jeff Wilson Jr. is also on the roster, but did not play against Green Bay along with a large group of key Niners, including left tackle Trent Williams, end Nick Bosa, linebacker Fred Warner, receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk and tight end George Kittel.
Mitchell, a sixth round from Louisiana in 2021, set a franchise rookie rushing record with 963 yards last season, adding five touchdowns despite missing six games with a litany of injuries (ribs, knee, finger, shoulder and concussion).
After an off-season knee surgery, Mitchell came back to camp a little heavier in hopes of handling the workload without a hitch.
Niner’s rookie defensive end Drake Jackson left the game Friday with a shoulder injury. Afterwards, Shanahan called it a sting, but added that Jackson was undergoing further testing.