The San Francisco 49ers are hoping to have running back Matt Breida back in the mix this weekend when they host the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said as much on his Friday morning KNBR interview. He said that Breida had a setback a couple weeks ago, and the hope was getting last week off will help him in Week 15.
Breida has been dealing with an ankle injury most of the season. He has been able to play every week, but was finally inactive last week. He was a DNP all three days of practice, but has been upgraded to limited this week. I would not be surprised to see him listed as questionable on the final injury report later this afternoon.
If Breida does play, the 49ers will have a decision to make with their backfield. Breida is the number one guy, but rookie Jeff Wilson has looked solid in his place. He made his debut in Week 12 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and rushed seven times for 33 yards behind Breida. In Week 13 against the Seahawks, he took over after Breida aggravated his ankle injury, and finished the game with 61 rushing yards and 73 receiving yards. Last week in the win over Denver, Wilson started and finished with 90 rushing yards and a six-yard reception.
Given Breida’s ankle injury and missing last week, I suspect we see Wilson get more than the eight touches he had in reserve against Tampa Bay. I could see 10-15 total touches, and Breida getting in the 15-20 touch range. It makes sense to see how they compare in a situation that is closer to even than we saw a few weeks back.