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Ty Davis-Price will be absent for some time after suffering a serious sprained ankle on September 18, 2022.
Maybe the San Francisco 49ers won’t stop promoting Marlon Mack to the active roster to help the game in progress?
After Ty Davis-Price sustained a high ankle sprain and last season’s leading rusher Elijah Mitchell was struggling with a sprained MCL, the 49ers decided to call the former 1,000-yard back from the Indianapolis Colts on Tuesday, Jan September 20, to be promoted from the training team. This now gives the 49ers the following healthy options for their Week 3 road trip to Denver: Mack, Jeff Wilson and undrafted rookie Jordan Mason. Deebo Samuel is also in as he’s taking handoffs again.
Still, realistically, the 49ers are left with three real RB options for their Sunday Night Football interconference showdown. And an NFL analyst wrote on Wednesday morning, Sept. 21, that the 49ers “appear to be in a bind with their offensive depth just two weeks into the 2022 NFL season.”
Which leads to Bleacher Report’s Joe Tansey believing the 49ers have some trading goals to consider. Not only does one of them have ties to a popular former 49ers assistant, but he was a record-breaking running back at his previous stop.
$2 million RB “takes a franchise to bail out,” writes one analyst
At the top of Tansey’s list is this new name that has emerged: A versatile and past-leading rusher from the AFC East.
“Myles Gaskin needs a franchise to get him out of his position with the Miami Dolphins,” Tansey writes.
Gaskin, currently in the final season of his four-year $2,606,777 contract that will make him an unrestricted free agent per Spotrac in 2023, finds himself in a deeper backfield that includes a once-loved 49er.
“Gaskin was kept on the 53-man roster after training camp despite the presence of Chase Edmonds and Raheem Mostert,” Tansey said. “Edmonds and Mostert have dominated most running back touches for two weeks, which has caused Gaskin to look inside. Of course, Miami could try to keep Gaskin in case of injury, but the Dolphins need to find a solution to his problem if Edmonds and Mostert stay healthy.”
Gaskin was record breaker at the final stop
Not long ago, the 5-foot-10, 194-pound Gaskin rewrote the history books at his last stop before the Dolphins: the University of Washington.
And it wasn’t just for the huskies. Gaskin broke Pac-12 conference records.
He became the first in Pac-12 history to surpass the 1,000-yard mark in four seasons. He also became the Husky record holder in career rushing yards with 5,323 and total touchdowns with 62.
A notable player that he has surpassed? Former first rounder and UW legend Napoleon Kaufman.
What could the 49ers offer?
This could be a situation where the head coach and former 49ers offensive coordinator can meet ahead of their December 4 meeting when the Dolphins come to Levi’s Stadium.
“Kyle Shanahan would like to call his old assistant Mike McDaniel and ask about Gaskin in a trade given the current running back situation in San Francisco. Gaskin would give the 49ers a young, explosive back to work with Wilson and Mack to get their offense going,” Tansey said.
But what would the 49ers be willing to give up, according to Tansey?
“San Francisco would likely need to use a Day 3 draft pick to get Gaskin out of Miami, and if he continues to not see the field often, the Dolphins should consider trading him somewhere,” Tansey writes.
The 49ers might wait a little longer to bring Mitchell and Davis-Price into the herd once they’re healthy. But if injuries continue to pile up, Gaskin’s ties to a 49ers-like offense could convince the Niners to relent and add him as an insurance policy.
