Tevin Coleman made his San Francisco 49ers debut on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It didn't, however, last long as the running back was ruled out at halftime for the remainder of the game due to a high-ankle sprain.
Coleman finished the game with six carries for 23 yards and a pair of catches for 33 yards. He underwent an MRI on Monday in Youngstown, Ohio, where the 49ers are practicing this week in preparation for their Week 2 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed on Monday via a conference call that Coleman suffered a high-ankle sprain and is week-to-week going forward.
"It's a high-ankle sprain, so I'm pretty sure he's not going to be around this week, and we'll take it week-to-week after that," Shanahan told reporters.
The good news is that the injury was not serious enough to consider injured reserve — short-term or otherwise — and the 49ers will ride out Coleman's recovery.
Shanahan said Coleman got hurt on the first play of the game.
"I think they landed on his ankle, and then it just got worse as the game went," Shanahan explained. "He tried to battle through it throughout the second quarter, and I think he was done at halftime, if I remember correctly."
The 49ers could promote a player from the practice squad to join the two healthy running backs remaining on the roster — Matt Breida and Raheem Mostert. One of those options might be second-year running back Jeff Wilson.
Shanahan didn't dismiss the possibility of entering Sunday's game with two running backs on the roster.
"We've got to see how the week goes, how many we're going to need on Sunday," Shanahan said. "There's plenty of time. In Atlanta, I think we played every game but two or three with only two running backs. Sometimes that's a risk you take in a game. It just all depends on how the rest of our roster is, and what we feel gives us the best chance by Saturday."
San Francisco signed Coleman to a two-year, $10 million deal in March after the running back spent his first four NFL seasons with the Atlanta Falcons.
The Falcons made Coleman a third-round selection out of Indiana in 2015. He has 2,363 rushing yards on 534 attempts with 18 rushing touchdowns through his five NFL seasons.
Shanahan also said Nick Bosa's ankle emerged from Sunday's game in pretty good shape. Other than Coleman and some dehydrated players, the 49ers escaped Tampa Bay without too many health concerns.
