- Position
- RB
- Number
- #23
- Age
- 30
- Pieces here
- 37
On the record
Called Shots →Kaelon Black is on the San Francisco 49ers' initial 53-man roster as announced at the August 30, 2026 mandatory cut. Scored off the initial 53 only: the practice squad is a miss, a later signing or elevation after the initial roster is a miss, and being placed on injured reserve from the initial 53 counts as a hit.
Christian McCaffrey rushes for MORE than 900 yards in the 2026 regular season. Exactly 900 or fewer grades this WRONG.
Christian McCaffrey scores 13 or more total touchdowns (rushing plus receiving) in the 2026 regular season. Twelve or fewer grades this WRONG.
Written about him
San Francisco Stopped The Rams On Fourth And One At Its Own 1, Then Drove 99 Yards
The 49ers opened 1-0 with a 27-7 win over the Rams at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Thursday evening in the Bay Area and Friday morning in Australia. Los Angeles reached the San Francisco 1 in the third quarter and turned the ball over on downs; San Francisco answered with an 11-play, 99-yard touchdown drive. Connor Colby started at left guard and the whole line played every snap, George Kittle played 30 of 65 in his return, Kaelon Black carried more often than Christian McCaffrey, and De'Zhaun Stribling started at receiver without being thrown to. Nine takeaways off the official game book.
The Two Names That Moved On Wednesday's Injury Report Both Play Right Defensive Tackle
San Francisco's second injury report of Week 1, distributed by the club's communications staff and published by David Bonilla at 49ers Webzone at about 2:57 p.m. Pacific on Wednesday, carries the same eleven San Francisco names as Tuesday's and moves exactly two of them. Alfred Collins goes from limited participation to did not participate, filed under a knee; Kyle Shanahan said this week that Collins tore a patellar tendon and is out for the year. James Thompson Jr. goes from did not participate to limited, and Shanahan had said before the last practice that Thompson's availability would be settled by how that session went, per Patrick Holloway and Kyle Posey at Niners Nation. The two men are first and third at right defensive tackle on the club's own chart. Nick Bosa, limited on both reports, said after the final full practice that he is '100% ready to go' and that he had not yet talked to defensive line coach Kris Kocurek about a snap limit. George Kittle, also limited both days, said his body feels good and that he does not know his workload. Shanahan said the club has to be smart with both, and called Christian McCaffrey 'Awesome. Ready to go.' Bonilla writes that San Francisco held no full practice on Wednesday and had a walk-through scheduled. On the Rams' side everyone but Aaron Donald improved: Myles Garrett went from did not participate to full. Neither the distributed report as published nor the club's own injury report page, read at 3:04 p.m. and again at 4:52 p.m. Pacific, carries a game status for anybody. On the roster page nothing was processed: 53 active, 17 practice squad, 11 on injured reserve, 2 on Active/PUP, Collins still on the Active table.
Nick Bosa Was Limited In Melbourne And The Only Man Who Did Not Practice Was An Undrafted Rookie
Nick Bosa and Christian McCaffrey returned to the field for San Francisco's second Melbourne practice after doing no drills at the first, per Matt Barrows at The Athletic and Matt Maiocco at NBC Sports Bay Area, both filing at about 3:42 a.m. Pacific on Tuesday. The club's first official participation report of the season followed at about 3:10 p.m. Pacific and listed eleven men. James Thompson Jr., a rookie defensive tackle with a hamstring strain, was the only non-participant. Nine were limited, Bosa and George Kittle among them, and cornerback Upton Stout was the lone full participant. Christian McCaffrey carries no designation at all. Defensive coordinator Raheem Morris said of Bosa, 'He's going out there. Whatever you want to say, he's going. He'll be there. We're not hiding that.' Los Angeles will not have Aaron Donald, who is not travelling to Australia, and listed Myles Garrett among five non-participants with a knee. On the roster page, Victor Dimukeje came off injured reserve, taking that list from twelve to eleven.
Nick Bosa And Christian McCaffrey Did No Drills In The Open Portion Of The First Melbourne Practice
Nick Bosa and Christian McCaffrey did not take part in drills during the portion of San Francisco's first Melbourne practice open to reporters, per Matt Maiocco at NBC Sports Bay Area and Matt Barrows at The Athletic. San Francisco plays the Rams at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Thursday at 5:35 p.m. Pacific. Reporters leave before team drills, and the club was not required to file a participation report, so what either man did after that is not public. Shanahan said the time difference meant he did not have to talk about injuries until the following day, and did not. George Kittle and Mike Evans practised. Barrows listed six men back from injury: Renardo Green, Romello Height, Jacob Cowing, Vederian Lowe, Gracen Halton and Luke Gifford. Five of the six who sat out the September 2 practice in Santa Clara are on that list; James Thompson Jr. is on no list either way. The club named eight captains, all eight returning from 2025, and Bosa and McCaffrey are two of them. Brayden Willis is back on the practice squad, which now sits at seventeen.
Every Under Is A Man Coming Off A Lost Season
Seventeen season lines, one side taken on each: the 49ers over 9.5 wins, Christian McCaffrey over 900 rushing yards and over 12.5 touchdowns, Brock Purdy over 3,600 passing yards and 27 combined touchdowns, and team sacks over 35 after a 20.0-sack 2025. The three unders are Mike Evans at 900 receiving yards, George Kittle at 700 and Nick Bosa at 12 sacks, and each is a bet on a calendar rather than a player. Thirteen of the seventeen file to the Called Shots ledger and grade when the regular season ends. Four do not: the Deebo Samuel and Nick Bosa lines and the two team-defense lines are argued here and not filed, because at an honest price each of the four is closer to a statement than a call.
San Francisco Traded For A Linebacker Five Days Before The Cutdown
The 49ers announced at 8:15 a.m. Tuesday that they acquired linebacker Deion Jones from the New Orleans Saints in exchange for running back Zamir White. New Orleans signed Jones on August 8 and San Francisco signed White on August 12, so the trade moved two men who had been with their clubs for seventeen and thirteen days. It is the only linebacker transaction on the 49ers' August log. Nick Martin left the Chargers game on August 20 with a hamstring injury and Jalen Graham had missed a couple of practices with an injury as of Sunday, and Tim Kawakami had Jaden Dugger and Garret Wallow as the likeliest men to come out of the competition behind Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw. Jones has 128 career games and 91 starts and spent his first five Atlanta seasons with Raheem Morris on that staff. White's entire 49ers career is fourteen carries for thirty yards. Christian McCaffrey returned to practice Sunday after about two weeks off. The roster is due at 53 on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. PT.
Jordan James And Kaelon Black Have Eight Preseason Carries Between Them
San Francisco opened camp with a two-man competition to back up Christian McCaffrey. Across two preseason games Kaelon Black has carried the ball eight times and Jordan James has not carried it at all, because one had an adductor injury and the other a fractured rib. Sincere McCormick, a third-year back outside the projected 53, leads the team with 16 carries for 91 yards. One practice and one game remain before the roster is due Sunday.
Christian McCaffrey Took Roughly Seven Team Reps On Sunday
San Francisco practised Sunday morning at 10:15. Christian McCaffrey took team reps for the first time since the tightness, Deommodore Lenoir and De'Zhaun Stribling returned in no-contact jerseys, Romello Height was new to the non-participant list, and Upton Stout intercepted Brock Purdy. Renardo Green's imaging, ordered on Friday, is still unreported three days on.
Both Of The 49ers' Outside Cornerbacks Missed The Same Practice
The 49ers announced shoulder injuries for cornerback Deommodore Lenoir and rookie receiver De'Zhaun Stribling on Saturday, calling both day-to-day, and Renardo Green did not practice two days after the hamstring that took him out of the Chargers game. Jordan James practiced for the first time this camp, and Dominick Puni and C.J. West cleared the concussion protocol. Nick Bosa and Christian McCaffrey were not in a session Kyle Shanahan had described them as on track for. Eight days to the cutdown, and nothing crossed the line on the 53-man tracker.
The 49ers Have Made Five Running Back Moves Since August 2, And Thursday's Came Five Hours Before Kickoff
San Francisco's roster is due August 30 and the running back room has been reshaped five times since August 2, most recently at 1:40 on Thursday afternoon. Patrick Taylor Jr. is on Reserve/Injured for the second straight preseason and Khalil Herbert is back three days after the club released him. The two men actually competing for the job behind Christian McCaffrey have not been on a practice field together once this month.
Cutting Christian McCaffrey In August Would Clear $1.95 Million
Two salary-cap books disagree about how to label Christian McCaffrey's money and agree on every dollar of it. What they show is a contract neither side can use as leverage, which is a better answer than the one going around.
Jack Jones And Marques Sigle Were In Uniform Saturday. The 49ers Signed Nobody.
Jack Jones, No. 25, and Marques Sigle, No. 36, were in uniform for Saturday's 11:50 a.m. practice, two days after leaving the preseason opener with a hand and an oblique. Jacob Cowing, No. 6, was too. Christian McCaffrey (tightness), Nick Bosa (soreness and tendinitis in the surgically repaired knee) and Kurtis Rourke (ribs) did not practise. No transaction has been announced since August 12 on the club's own log and August 13 on ESPN's, and the roster sits at 90 chargeable players against a limit of 90, counted table by table on Saturday afternoon. Thursday's running backs carried 23 times for 52 yards. Nothing on the 53-man projection crossed the cut line.
Ten 49ers To Watch Against Tennessee, Starting With The Left Guard On The Depth Chart
The 49ers open the preseason against the Titans on Thursday night at Levi's Stadium, 6 p.m. PT, on KPIX CBS 5 locally. Kyle Shanahan said after Tuesday's joint practice that there will not be many starters playing, and Christian McCaffrey and Nick Bosa have each missed multiple sessions. That makes the game an audition: Robert Jones is listed as the starting left guard on the club's first unofficial depth chart, rookie Carver Willis is behind him, and second-round receiver De'Zhaun Stribling is coming off the loudest practice any 49ers rookie has had this camp. Ten men to watch, plus the injuries that shape who is available.
Left Guard Is An Open Competition Everywhere Except In The Reps
The 49ers held their 10th full training camp practice on Monday. Robert Jones worked with the first-team offensive line at left guard, Connor Colby stayed at second-team right guard, and offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak called the job a competition anyway. Christian McCaffrey was given the day off with tightness, leaving Patrick Taylor Jr., Sincere McCormick and Khalil Herbert as the only healthy running backs, and the club worked out two more. Brock Purdy went 10 of 13. Nick Bosa missed a fourth straight practice.
Pearsall's Knee, Two Quarterback Lines, And A Strip-Sack To Open Team Drills
Nick Wagoner reported swelling in Ricky Pearsall's knee from a PCL injury carried over from last season, with surgery being explored. Jordan James has a fractured rib and Malik Mustapha a hamstring strain. Purdy completed 14 of 18 in team drills, Mac Jones 11 of 15, and Dre Greenlaw opened team drills by stripping Christian McCaffrey.
