San Francisco 49ers running back Jerick McKinnon suffered a season-ending torn ACL not long after returning from a previous calf strain which kept him out of most of the preseason. However, McKinnon does not believe he returned too quickly from that initial injury and believes his ACL tear was an unrelated occurrence.

“I don't feel like I rushed back,” McKinnon told reporters Monday. “That was the plan … that's what we went with. I felt good at practice. It just so happened, I made a cut and I tore my ACL. That's all it was.”

McKinnon, who signed a four-year contract worth $30 million in March, was expected to be his team's top option out of the backfield this year and was ready to face his old teammates in their matchup against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1. Obviously, he was disappointed that he won't be able to do so following his injury.

“I was more devastated when it happened, just the feeling knowing that it wouldn't be all right for Week 1,” McKinnon said. “This game probably meant a lot to me [than] maybe anybody else, just going against my former team and stuff like that. So, when it happened and I felt it, I would probably say that initial thought of like ‘Dang, I'm not going to have a week to get my knee right' was probably the worst feeling.”

While he is frustrated, he released a statement via Twitter promising to come back even better next season.

With McKinnon gone, Matt Breida, Raheem Mostert, and Alfred Morris will work together and divide the touches at running back for the Niners this season. Perhaps one of them will be able to assert themselves as a valuable replacement given this new opportunity.

The 49ers will most likely have to lean on their newly signed quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to combat the potential lack of a consistent ground attack this year.