San Francisco 49ers running back Matt Breida signed his restricted franchise tender to return to the Bay Area as part of a three-headed monster in the Niners backfield.
The trio of Breida, Tevin Coleman and Raheem Mostert gobbled up touches for San Francisco in 2019, and it seems that will be the case again in 2020.49ers' Matt Breida opens up about RB situation in San Francisco
However, the Niners also used the exclusive rights tender on Jeff Wilson, and they have restructured Jerick McKinnon's contract. In other words, the Niners are essentially slated to have five running backs on the roster.
Although such a crowded 49ers backfield would seem to impede Breida's ability to get consistent touches, he thinks the Niners will do their best to keep everyone around (via Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk):
It’s also made for speculation that the Niners might make a move involving one of those backs before or during the draft, but Breida doesn’t think that’s necessarily how things will play out.
“I think they want a lot of the guys back, so they’re going to do whatever they can to keep everyone back,” Breida said on KNBR. “I’m just going to sit here, wait, and see what happens. But I’ve got a good feeling we’re all going to be back.”
It would be rather unprecedented for the Niners to carry all five running backs on their 53-man roster. But at the same time, they have shown a steady commitment to keeping the crew intact this offseason.
McKinnon seems most susceptible, given he has not played since 2017. Yes, the Niners restructured his contract, but that might simply make him easier to deal in the event another team is willing to take a flyer.
In any case, Breida seems to have no problem with the Niners holding steady in terms of the running back situation.
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