Fantasy football owners who hoped San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey would propel them to a comeback victory on "Monday Night Football" were dealt a brutal blow some 90 minutes before kickoff at Levi's Stadium.
McCaffrey, who dealt with a calf and Achilles ailment during the preseason, was ruled out of the Week 1 clash against the New York Jets. McCaffrey was viewed as the top Week 1 running back in both ESPN and Yahoo leagues.
Those managers, however, grew even more irate after the game when 49ers backup running back Jordan Mason told ESPN's Lisa Salters he learned he would be starting Friday.
"When did I find out?" Mason told Salters during the on-field interview. "Maybe Friday, Friday night. You know, something like that."
McCaffrey was listed as questionable on Friday's injury report. Should the 49ers have failed to reveal the full extent of McCaffrey's status, San Francisco could face discipline from the league.
When speaking to the media after the game, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and Mason himself contradicted the initial interview. Shanahan called it a "game-time decision" to make McCaffrey inactive.
"I never told Jordan he was going to start," Shanahan told reporters when asked about Mason's comment, per the 49ers. "I told him he had to be ready a bunch, but that might have been Bobby or somebody trying to pump him up. I knew he was going to have to play a lot. I told him he was going to have to -- it wasn't going to be like usual. He was going to be a No. 2 back that was splitting a lot of the time. But he didn't know, for sure, he was going to be doing that until today."
Shanahan added: "We just found out he (McCaffrey) wasn't playing today. ... I thought he was playing this whole week until today."
Mason hinted at frustration during his postgame press conference when asked again when he learned he would start.
"That question right there is why I'm mad," Mason told reporters, per Sporting News. "That's why I don't really like talking to the media, 'cause you say one thing wrong and then, you know -- I don't know. Just skip that question."
Managers who put McCaffrey on last-minute injured reserve and picked up Mason on the waiver wire might feel a bit better Tuesday morning. The third-year running back racked up 28 carries for 147 yards and one touchdown.
Shanahan said he does not know McCaffrey's status going forward.
