The San Francisco 49ers continue to make moves ahead of the 2024 NFL season, as they released former starting running back Matt Breida. Breida fell through the depth chart, with the likes of Elijah Mitchell, Jordan Mason and Isaac Guerendo coming in ahead of him, and they ultimately decided they did not need him with their roster needing to be trimmed down the 53 players.

Via Jeremy Fowler:

“49ers releasing veteran RB Matt Breida, per source.”

Even though both Mitchell and Guerendo both dealt with hamstring injuries throughout training camp, it's not too much of a surprise to see Breida get cut. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan delivered some high praise of Mason earlier in camp, and Guerendo flashed when he returned from injury, as he had a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in their preseason finale against the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Georgia-Southern alum averaged five yards per carry in his three seasons with the 49ers from earlier in his career, but he hasn't produced at the same level since leaving San Fran. Breida did play in all 17 games over each of the past two seasons with the New York Giants, but there simply no place for him on the depth chart

Matt Breida can add valuable depth for other teams after 49ers release

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This isn't the first time Breida has been part of crowded backfields before, but he was unable to find a spot for himself on San Fran's roster this time around. With Christian McCaffrey leading the way, there isn't a ton of need to keep several running backs around, which made Breida expendable unfortunately

Still, Breida's experience playing under Shanahan could make him a piece that other teams could be interested in adding now that he's a free agent. While he's not exactly a starting-caliber running back anymore, he still has some gas left in the tank, which could lead to him being an effective change of pace back for another team that has more of a need at running back than San Francisco does.

The 49ers could certainly open a spot on the practice squad for Breida if no team signs him in free agency. However, given their current depth at the position, it wouldn't be worth banking on that happening, and it will be interesting to see if another team scoops him up over the next couple of days.