49ers RB Elijah Mitchell injury: What status means for Week 4

Update — Mitchell is officially inactive with a knee injury against the Cardinals.

Update — Mitchell is not expected to play in Week 4 vs. the Cardinals, per reports.

San Francisco 49ers running back Elijah Mitchell injured his knee during practice on Thursday of this week. That forced him to miss Friday’s session, and the team gave him a questionable designation ahead of its Week 4 home game against the Arizona Cardinals.

With an injury late in the week like that, it seems unlikely that Mitchell will play. And as the No. 2 behind Christian McCaffrey, the 49ers can tap someone else on their depth chart to spell the starter when needed.

Betting and DFS implications for Week 4

After not playing a snap, despite being active, Mitchell did get some work last week against the Giants, carrying the ball 11 times for 42 yards. His fantasy value, however, is strictly that of an insurance policy for McCaffrey.

The 49ers are 14-point favorites against the Cardinals this week. Mitchell’s availability won’t have any effect on that line or the 43.5 projected point total.

While McCaffrey is the obvious must-start fantasy option here, his backups could have some value since they’re likely to see a lot of work in mop-up duty against the Cardinals. Still, that’s tough to bank on in your DFS lineups anyway.