Kyle

Juszczyk

Juszczyk trotted off-field, holding one arm against his chest. He is unlikely to return with just two minutes left in the game.

Cowing was largely contributing as a special teams player before exiting. Kyle Juszczyk correspondingly fielded his first career punt return.

The move clears $1.75 million in cap space for San Francisco. According to Schefter, Juszczyk remains the highest-paid fullback in the NFL. Juszczyk is one of the league’s best fullbacks, but he plays a dying position, limiting his market value. That leverage likely made it easier for the 49ers to get him to take a pay cut, even if he remains one of the richest players at the position. Juszczyk totaled 14 carries for 119 yards and two scores last year.

Juszczyk’s rush was a critical chain-mover. The three touches were just one off his season high. Although a literal All-Pro at fullback, Juszczyk continues to lack fantasy relevance. He is also due $5.75 million heading into his age-33 season. At the very least, he is probably going to need to restructure his deal.

Juice squeezed about all he could from his limited opportunities, seemingly fed a score to begin the fourth quarter after his standard dirty work during the first three frames. Kyle Shanahan called a pass play to Juszczyk from the 10 yard line, which he caught and took down to the one. McCaffrey was given the next touch but failed to punch it in, leading to a one-yard touchdown reception for the Pro Bowl fullback on the next play. Every now and then Juszczyk will return showdown relevancy via these designed scores, which pop up at random as an apparent way to thank the fullback for his hard work.

Juszczyk isn’t a fantasy-relevant player, but does play an important role as a blocker and occasionally a pass-catcher in the 49ers’ offense. Week 10 will be his first chance to pace the way for Christian McCaffrey, who was acquired by San Francisco after Juszczyk went down with a broken finger.

The Niners expect Juszczyk back following the Week 9 bye. Averaging two touches per game through seven contests, Juszczyk has played 53% of the offensive snaps to this point.

The move apparently locks in Juszczyk’s $3.775 million in 2022 and fully guarantees him $1.25 million of his $4.75 million salary for 2023. Aggressively targeted in free agency by Kyle Shanahan upon his arrival in 2017, Juszczyk is always billed as a critical component of the Niners’ offense, but it is not the kind of stuff that shows up in the box score. He has 175 touches in five years as a 49er, never exceeding 40 in a season.

Juszczyk saw a career-high, nine touches last week and played a similar role versus Seattle. He did not garner a carry but made the most of his four looks in the passing game. As long as Trey Sermon, who Kyle Shanahan does not trust with pass-catching duties, remains the starter Juszczyk will get plenty of run on third downs. Still, with no rushing opportunities and a nonexistent history of usable fantasy weeks, Juszczyk is more of a novelty than a legitimate fantasy option for Week 5.

That means we’ll get another week of Trey Sermon as the starter. Sermon started last week and earned 10 carries plus three targets. He managed just 34 yards from scrimmage but saved his day with an end-zone plunge. Kyle Juszczyk saw a career-high in touches in that game while getting the bulk of the passing-downs work and seeing red zone opportunities. His presence keeps Sermon in the RB3 range this week.