San Francisco 49ers to sign veteran running back Alfred Morris

The San Francisco 49ers are signing running back Alfred Morris after a slew of injuries to their backfield in the first few weeks of training camp.

After their first preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys, the San Francisco 49ers saw four key players go down with an injury.

George Kittle, Matt Breida, Solomon Thomas, and Malcolm Smith all went down with an injury after just a pair of possessions.

Adding insult to injury, in their first practice back in Santa Clara, the team saw their recently signed investment, Jerick McKinnon leave practice midway with a knee injury.

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McKinnon’s had an MRI on Sunday that revealed the injury was only a strained calf muscle. So it doesn’t appear to be anything too serious.

However, with Breida expected to miss the remainder of the preseason, the 49ers’ backfield is getting pretty thin, with McKinnon unlikely to play this Saturday.

Kyle Shanahan announced during his press conference on Monday afternoon that the team plans on signing the veteran running back Alfred Morris to bring some depth to their backfield. Morris will join Joe Williams, Raheem Mostert, Jeremy McNichols, and Jeff Wilson as the other running backs on the roster.

Morris, 29, will re-join Shanahan for the first time since 2013, where he was the featured running back in Washington’s offense.

Morris rushed for 2,888 yards in two seasons under Shanahan and understood his complex offense, which brings some reliability to the running back groups.

It’s clear that Morris’ familiarity with Shanahan’s offense gave him a leg-up on the other available running backs, but the chances he makes the team are relatively slim. Given that Breida is expected to be ready by week one of the regular season, and the team is taking the safe approach with McKinnon, their depth concerns shouldn’t extend beyond the preseason.

Morris will continue to put pressure on Joe Williams to earn his spot on the final 53-man roster though, and will compete with Mostert for the third running back spot.

Morris has been a formidable backup for Dallas the past two seasons and “has a shot” at making the team.

When asked why Shanahan decided to bring in Morris, Shanahan cited their success in Washington and said that Morris brings an extremely hard style of running and is very reliable when it comes to the running back position.

It’s a good move for the 49ers to add insurance to a position that has been affected by injuries. By all accounts, it doesn’t appear that either of their top two running backs should miss an extended period. But it’s best to prepare for worst case scenario, and Morris being a veteran in the league, is good insurance.

Morris plays running back a bit different, where he’s more of a between the tackles runner and McKinnon and Breida are pass-catching backs that do their best work with open space.

Morris is five-foot-ten, 225lbs and could help take some of the physical toll off McKinnon (five-foot-nine,, 205lbs) and Breida (five-foot-ten, 190lbs) during the season.

If the 49ers had some concern about the durability of McKinnon and Breida, it makes sense to bring in a change of pace back like Morris early in preseason so that he gets acclimated to the playbook.

The chances Morris makes the team though, are still slim given that Shanahan hand-picked Joe Williams in last year’s draft, and Raheem Mostert provides a great value on special teams.

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But who knows, Morris showed flashes of still being able to play at a high level when he filled in for Dallas when Ezekiel Elliott served his six-game suspension during weeks ten through 15. Morris rushed for 287 yards on 73 carries (3.93 YPC) and a touchdown in a timeshare with Rod Smith.