Jordan Mason impresses in the San Francisco 49ers’ Monday Night Football victory (32-19) over the New York Jets. However, his interview afterwards could have consequences. There was only one comparable case in 2023.

Talk is silver, silence is golden. Could be a headline for this case.

Monday Night Football. The season opener. Fans all over the world, some of them fantasy football players, are eager for the start of the new season. They discuss – who is playing, who is not playing and accordingly line up their teams in the match rounds.

Independently of this, the teams are obliged to submit a game sheet to the NFL stating which players are out and which are not. This is particularly important due to the sports betting market.

In the San Francisco 49ers’ 32-19 win over the New York Jets, running back Jordan Mason made a brilliant starting debut in place of the injured Christian McCaffrey. Almost nobody had him on their radar. And perhaps wrongly so! Because Mason gave a potentially fatal interview after the game

NFL teams have commitments

147 yards, one touchdown. Mason was brilliant. Maybe he was still a little drunk with victory when it came to the “ESPN” interview. When asked how the preparation for the game went and how hard it is to function spontaneously on call, he said:

“When did I know I was going to play? Maybe since Friday, Friday night or something. I’m always ready to play.”

The problem: teams are required to submit an injury report to the NFL by the deadline before a game day. This report should state which players are available and which are not. If Mason already knew about his starter role on Friday, the 49ers could face a penalty, as the actual starter McCaffrey was only listed as “questionable” on their report.

Of course, teams don’t want to reveal too early who can and can’t play. And missing “CMC” obviously changes a big part of the offense. The Jets could have adjusted better. But the rules are clear:

NFL launches investigation

The NFL will investigate the case. The 49ers were required to file the report by 4 p.m. Friday afternoon. If Mason knew shortly before or afterward that he was safe to play, he could be fined.

The official NFL regulations state that fines against the franchise or persons involved are just as possible as the disqualification of draft picks.

There was a similar case last season. Back then, it concerned the Atlanta Falcons and running back Bijan Robinson. In the away game in week seven at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the then rookie hardly played at all, citing discomfort the night before the game.

However, because the Falcons had not added Robinson to the injury report, which teams are obliged to do in such cases, the franchise was fined 75,000 dollars and the then head coach Arthur Smith had to pay 25,000 dollars.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Mike Tomlin received the exact same sanctions in the 2019 season when they failed to provide timely notice of an elbow injury to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

Shanahan contradicts Mason – who rows back

If the 49ers are found guilty of a rules violation, the penalties are likely to be similar. However, head coach Kyle Shanahan contradicted Mason’s statements after the game: “He certainly didn’t know he was going to play. He only found out today”.

A statement that seems unbelievable after Mason’s answer.

Nevertheless, the Niners could try to explain the incident by saying that they tried until the last second to get McCaffrey fit and Mason was only forewarned.

Nonetheless, the Mason interview did not help his own team. Mason himself later backtracked at a press conference and said he didn’t know exactly when he had found out about his commitment