The San Francisco 49ers are in a precarious position in the backfield with their top two running backs on the depth chart, Jerick McKinnon and Matt Brieda, each dealing with injuries in the weeks leading up to the regular season.
San Francisco wasted little time adding more depth to the position with the signing of free agent veteran running back Alfred Morris, according to Ian Rapoport of The NFL Network.
The #49ers are signing veteran FA RB Alfred Morris, given their recent string of injuries at the position.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 13, 2018
Morris spent the last two years with the Dallas Cowboys, taking a secondary role in the running game behind Ezekiel Elliott. However, he did show that he has plenty of gas left in the tank with Elliott out serving a six-game suspension, as Morris had four games with at least 60 rushing yards and one 100-yard yard performance.
The 29-year-old will be a bit behind in terms of learning the playbook, but he will have the next few weeks to digest as much of the offensive game plan as possible. However, he does have much experience having spent two years under head coach Kyle Shanahan when he was the offensive coordinator for the Washington Redskins.
Morris was successful in that system as the lead running back, breaking into the league with 1,613 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns before compiling 1,275 rushing yards and seven touchdowns the following season. In fact, all three of his career 1,000-yard campaigns came with the Redskins. His presence may serve as a security blanket for the 49ers in case either or both McKinnon and Breida are unable to give it a go.
McKinnon is currently dealing with a calf strain that will force him miss practice over the next week before being re-evaluated, and Brieda suffered a separated shoulder in Thursday's preseason game against the Cowboys.
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