In the last few weeks, San Francisco 49ers running back Jerick McKinnon had been sidelined with a knee injury that has put his status for the season opener up in the air. However, he had recently returned to the practice field with eyes toward being ready for Week 1 action.

However, McKinnon has suffered another knee injury while making a cut in practice, one which has abruptly ended his 2018 campaign before it even began. It's been confirmed that McKinnon suffered a season-ending torn ACL.

The loss of McKinnon is a huge blow for the 49ers as he was expected to pick up the bulk of the duties in the backfield. This is his first opportunity to secure the starting job where he could prove that he could fulfill that massive role with the 49ers to be a cornerstone for their offensive game plan for the next several years. It was made more clear through the four-year, $30 million deal that San Francisco secured him on in free agency.

Through his first few seasons in the league, McKinnon has demonstrated to be a versatile offensive factor who can be an effective option both as a runner and receiver out of the backfield when given a chance to do so.

McKinnon is coming off arguably his best season in the league as he posted a career-high 570 rushing yards with three touchdowns while posting career-bests with 51 catches for 421 receiving yards and two touchdowns. McKinnon was a legit dual-threat option who would have had a tremendous impact on the game in both regards.

With McKinnon out, offseason addition Alfred Morris in line to receive a significant workload in his place. Morris has shown that he has plenty left in the tank in the preseason, where he rushed for 158 yards on 30 carries.