SANTA CLARA — Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel’s availability for the 49ers' "Monday Night Football" matchup with the Minnesota Vikings might be in question, but Kyle Juszczyk’s role will stay predominantly the same.
The veteran fullback has been part of San Francisco's offense since coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch took over the reins in 2017. While Juszczyk won’t become a featured back or the No. 1 receiver if his teammates can’t suit up, his role is vital for the success of the offense.
On Thursday Juszczyk told NBC Sports Bay Area that he was on the field more in third-down situations in the club’s Week 6 loss to the Cleveland Browns, but outside of a few more snaps, his role was to confuse the defense.
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“I’m in motion a lot,” Juszczyk said. “I can change the strength of the formation based on where I’m lined up. Me moving around causes confusion. I love having that on my plate. It’s another little fun thing for me and I know that it can cause stress for a defense.”
Shanahan is thankful for the veteran’s attention to detail. Picking up the slack for McCaffrey during the game fell on the shoulders of backup running backs J.P. Mason and Elijah Mitchell, with more opportunities through the air for receivers Ray-Ray McCloud and Jauan Jennings with Deebo Samuel out. Juszczyk’s leadership and experience on the field was a help to everyone involved.
“Kyle did a great job,” Shanahan said. “Juice is as consistent and reliable a player as I've ever had. He's been here since the beginning and everyone knows that you're going to get Juice to do his job every single game. So he's as consistent of a guy there is.”
Since signing as a free agent, Juszczyk has appeared in 97 games and registered 53 carries for 186 yards and four touchdowns. The Pro Bowl fullback also has caught 157 of his 203 targets for 1,615 yards and 10 receiving scores.
San Francisco 49ers
While Juszczyk loves to have the ball in his hands, what he does when it’s not coming his way is incredibly important.
“It’s all about communication and the defense having to communicate to one another,” Juszczyk said. “So when you go from one side of the formation to the other and then you finish back where you started, they’ve got to communicate two to three different times.
“Even if it’s the simplest communication, all it takes is one little breakdown, one hesitation, and now you have an advantage.”
Shanahan and the offense will be looking to use that advantage as much as possible on Monday night in an effort to bounce back from their first loss of the season.