49ers RB Jerick McKinnon placed on season-ending injured reserve for second straight season
After general manager John Lynch alluded to it earlier in the week, bad news for the San Francisco 49ers backfield appears to be confirmed.
For the second straight season, running Jerick McKinnon has been placed on season-ending injured reserve, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
49ers placed RB Jerick McKinnon on season-ending IR with his latest knee issues, per source. McKinnon cannot be brought back this season and is now out for the year.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 31, 2019
Lynch also revealed that McKinnon will require another procedure on his injured knee, per Schefter.
The 49ers signed McKinnon to a 4-year $30 million deal in 2018, expecting him to take over the starting job. He suffered an ACL tear before his first game in San Francisco and missed all of last season.
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His knee had reportedly been problematic all summer, prompting Lynch to speculate on Wednesday with KNBR that he could miss time following a discouraging return to practice.
“It’s a real bummer because you keep getting to the final step and the final step is actually playing NFL football, and particularly at his position, where you have to make hard cuts, you have to put your foot in the ground, and we did it a month ago and he kind of regressed and I would say yesterday we had a similar situation,” Lynch said.”
Now certain to not see a single snap with the Niners through two years with the team, you have to figure McKinnon is in position to be cut and find a clean slate elsewhere in the offseason.
49ers’ options in the backfield
The good news for the 49ers is that they have depth at the position. Undrafted running back Matt Breida returns from a breakout sophomore effort that saw him tally 814 rushing yards on 5.3 yards per carry last season. He was also a threat in the passing game, catching 27 passes for 261 yards.
He’s reportedly poised for a heavy workload this season.
The 49ers also signed former Atlanta Falcons running back Tevin Coleman to a two-year, $10 million deal in the offseason. Coleman thrived in a secondary role to Devonta Freeman while playing for head coach Kyle Shanahan when he was the offensive coordinator in Atlanta.
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