Who Should I Start? Ameer Abdullah or Phil Mafah

Monday, August 11, 8:41 PM

The San Francisco 49ers have placed running back Ameer Abdullah (ribs) on season-ending injured reserve, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Abdullah, who just joined the 49ers as a free agent on July 31, suffered a rib injury in a preseason-opening 30-9 loss to the Denver Broncos this past Saturday. While the 32-year-old was unlikely to make much of an impact this season (if any), it's another hit to San Francisco's depth in the backfield. The team is already set to go multiple weeks without injured Christian McCaffrey backups Isaac Guerendo (shoulder) and Jordan James (finger). The 49ers brought back Jeff Wilson Jr. in free agency on Sunday in the wake of Abdullah's injury to provide some much-needed healthy depth behind McCaffrey.

Saturday, August 9, 11:43 AM

Dallas Cowboys rookie running back Phil Mafah indicated Friday that he played through a torn labrum in his shoulder during his final college season at Clemson, Joseph Hoyt of the Dallas Morning News reports. Mafah has been looking good in camp thus far and mentioned that he is feeling healthy, then proceeded to discuss his 2024 injury. During the 2024 season, he rushed for 1,115 yards and eight touchdowns on 216 carries. He also caught 21 passes for 103 yards and played all 14 games, starting every one, and was voted a permanent team captain by his teammates. Those are still solid numbers considering he was dealing with a shoulder injury. Nonetheless, it could be why he fell to the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft in the spring. A big performance from Mafah on Saturday against the Los Angeles Rams could create a running back battle in the Cowboys' backfield between the two veterans (Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders) and the two rookies (Jaydon Blue and Mafah) ahead of Week 1. At this point, from a fantasy standpoint, Mafah remains a dynasty stash at best.