Who Should I Start? Jordan Mason or Deuce Vaughn

Monday, January 8, 1:46 PM

San Francisco 49ers running back Jordan Mason had the opportunity for a big workload in a Week 18 regular season finale against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday in a game in which the Niners were resting plenty of players with a first-round bye in the playoffs already locked up. However, Elijah Mitchell led the team with 14 carries for 52 yards and a touchdown, while Mason had only six rushing attempts and gained 36 yards on the ground. He added one catch for a 12-yard pickup. Mason wraps up his second regular season in the NFL with 40 rushing attempts for 206 yards and three touchdowns in 17 games, adding three receptions for 31 yards. The 24-year-old mostly played special teams in 2023 while serving as the No. 3 behind Christian McCaffrey and Mitchell, which will likely continue when the team resumes play in the Divisional Round in two weeks.

Wednesday, January 3, 1:23 PM

The Dallas Cowboys placed rookie running back Deuce Vaughn (ankle) on Injured Reserve on Wednesday and activated defensive lineman Viliami Fehoko (knee) from Injured Reserve in a corresponding move. Vaughn's move to IR is a sign that Rico Dowdle (ankle) should be OK to play in the Week 18 regular season finale against the Washington Commanders on Sunday after he sat out last week's win over the Detroit Lions on Saturday. The 22-year-old Vaughn was the talk of training camp over the summer, but he never really found a meaningful role with Tony Pollard and Dowdle in front of him in his rookie season. He finishes his first year in the NFL with 23 carries for 40 yards and seven catches for an additional 40 yards through the air. With Vaughn now out heading into the playoffs, Malik Davis will serve as the team's No. 3 RB.