49ers are Trading Jeff Wilson Jr. to the Dolphins for a 2023 Fifth-Round Pick
From reports to reality.
The San Francisco 49ers are trading running back Jeff Wilson Jr. to the Miami Dolphins, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.
In exchange for Wilson, the Dolphins are sending the 49ers their 2023 fifth-round pick. Given how excellent the 49ers are drafting in the fifth-round, they received solid compensation.
Wilson reunites with former 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel who is the head coach in Miami. He'll also team up in the backfield with Raheem Mostert again. Clearly the Dolphins and McDaniel are trying to recreate the 2019 rushing attack of the 49ers to go along with their cheat code wide receivers. The Dolphins are just wheeling and dealing.
As for the 49ers, Wilson immediately became expendable once they acquired Christian McCaffrey. The writing was on the wall, especially with the return of Elijah Mitchell nearing. He'll likely be able to give it a go out of the Bye week when the 49ers host the Chargers on Sunday Night football in Week 10.
Still, this is a trade that I am not a fan of. Running backs of the 49ers have dropped like flies year after year. McCaffrey has been an injury prone player and Mitchell sustained two injuries within a month of each that knocked him out of training camp and for the first-half of the regular season. Should either of these two sustain injuries that have them out for multiple games, then the absence of Wilson will start to be felt.
Ty Davis-Price is clearly getting a vote of confidence here from Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers. But it is a huge gamble to turn to him for potential injury relief when he hasn't really looked like an efficient runner early on. I get why the 49ers sent Wilson to the Dolphins as there was no way he was going to re-sign.
But this has short-term consequences that are poised to show up given the 49ers' luck with running back injuries. Let's see if their gamble is right.
![Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) tries to make the stop on San Francisco 49ers safety Talanoa Hufanga (29) after Hufanga intercepted a Lawrence pass early in the third quarter. The Jacksonville Jaguars hosted the San Francisco 49ers at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, FL Sunday, November 12, 2023. The Jaguars trailed 13 to 3 at the half and fell to the 49ers with a final score of 34 to 3. [Bob Self/Florida Times-Union]](https://www.si.com/.image/ar_16:9%2Cc_fill%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cg_faces:center%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_620/MjA1MDM5OTkwOTI3Nzk1OTY0/usatsi_21884716.jpg)