The 49ers are set to lose running back Elijah Mitchell once free agency officially begins, but Jordan Mason‘s short-term future has been assured. The latter will receive the second-round restricted free agent tender, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.
This move means the 49ers are taking the same route as the Steelers did yesterday with Jaylen Warren. The second-round tender is worth $5.3MM fully guaranteed, representing a notable raise for Mason. Should he sign an offer sheet which San Francisco declines to match, the team will receive a second-round pick as compensation.
In addition, a deal has been worked out with Richie Grant. Schefter’s colleague Jeremy Fowler reports the former Falcon is signing a one-year contract. The 49ers saw Talanoa Hufanga reach agreement on a big-ticket Broncos deal yesterday, and Grant will look to help replace him.
While some teams are balking at even giving RFAs the low-end tender ($3.26MM) this year, the 49ers are doing plenty to ensure Mason stays for a fourth season. Mason beat out Elijah Mitchell to back up Christian McCaffrey last year, before the injury-prone back was lost for the season. A former UDFA out of Georgia Tech, Mason then impressed in McCaffrey’s stead by soaring to the top of the rushing yards leaderboard early — no small feat considering where Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry went last season. Mason finished with 789 rushing yards (5.2 per carry) and three touchdowns in an 11-game season.
Mason had also eclipsed five yards per carry in 2022 and ’23, but doing so on 153 totes in 2024 proved more impressive. Mason suffered a high ankle sprain during the same game — a Sunday-night loss to the Bills — in which McCaffrey’s PCL injury occurred. Although McCaffrey is on track to participate in at least some of the 49ers’ offseason activities, his injury history makes a proven backup important. Mason, 26 in May, will be on track for unrestricted free agency in 2026.
Grant comes over after a four-year tenure with the Falcons. The former second-round pick will join rookie-deal safeties Ji’Ayir Brown and Malik Mustapha — both moving into the starting lineup due to Hufanga injuries at different points — in the 49ers’ secondary. The 49ers have placed a premium on safety experience, as their deals with Tashaun Gipson have shown, and Grant is heading west after being supplanted in Atlanta’s lineup by Justin Simmons last year. He has made 33 career starts.
Sam Robinson contributed to this post