49ers lose Carlos Hyde, replace him with ex-Viking Jerick McKinnon

Minnesota Vikings running back Jerick McKinnon (21) runs to the end zone for a touchdown against the New Orleans Saints during the first half of an NFL divisional football playoff game in Minneapolis, Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

First, the 49ers lost Carlos Hyde. He signed with the Cleveland Browns early Wednesday morning.

Then, the 49ers replaced him with former Minnesota Vikings backup running back Jerick McKinnon, who never has been a full-time starter in the NFL.

Then, the 49ers made McKinnon the fourth-highest-paid running back in the league. He will earn up to $30 million from the 49ers during the next four seasons.

“Jerick has proven to be an extremely versatile football player,” 49ers GM John Lynch wrote in a statement, “whose speed, elusiveness and tackle-breaking ability make him a very difficult matchup for defenses.”

McKinnon fits 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense, which emphasizes speed and elusiveness. Hyde is not fast or elusive. He didn’t fit Shanahan’s offense.

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        1. Yes, I was prompted to go back to again listening to Joe Williams (especially with the Count Basie band) and Jimmy Witherspoon (Akello’s grandpa) after the Niners’ last draft :) My son is in middle school jazz band and I recommended he listen to more Basie and Ellington……..

  1. So evidently the whole thing about the 49ers being a destination place for free agency is not so true. We are still having to overpay for people to come play for us.

    Is that how it’s gunna be with Shanahan and Lynch?

    1. It’s all relative.

      Would Sherman and MkKinnon have signed for the Niners last season? Or under Chip or Tomsula?

      1. The problem with saying its not “a destination place” is free agents know that the niners have a ton of cap space, and the niners appear to want flexibility in out years. They’re trading off this years cap a bit for more flexibility next year and in future, so free agents are picking up a big first year. Not the end of the world, and they’re getting who they want at this point.

          1. “Looks like it. Let’s give up now. All is lost. Women and children first.”

            Come on, Cassie, don’t you panic, too!

  2. Bah.
    This is always overblown.
    The only players that take paycuts to play for a contender are aging vets chasing a title. The type of player the niners are after are younger, building blocks or security piece players. In both cases they tend to go to the highest bidder because players only have about 2 contracts that they can really cash in on.

    I am concerned however at some of the RB signings, this is two years in a row where it looks like the niners paid too much for a running back. The worst being Juice. I like him but his is being paid more than double the next highest paid fullback. With his total contract value being $21,000,000 and the next highest being $8,400,000, that’s an insane amount to pay for a fullback (or OW as Lynch likes to say) considering the next highest paid fullbuck, Patrick DiMarco, put up nearly identical stats.

      1. I quite enjoyed it.
        They ranked Nelson very highly as well as Landry. And believe Landry has huge upside while Nelson is the better overall player currently.
        They also had Guice rated as their number one back which I thought was funny, because it reminded me a lot of your thinking. *Note* I agree with everything other than the Guice projection… but I did enjoy the way explained their thought process.

        1. Yea, I’m kinda surprised they’re so high on Hurst after his medical red flag and no one else seems to be talking about him. I think I’ll check out some of his tape….

  3. Too many question marks??????……

    Richburg, 26, played 50 games in his four seasons with the Giants, but only four came last season because of injuries.

    $11.7 million guaranteed at signing for Jerick McKinnon, a career backup who has never rushed for more than 570 yards in any NFL season.

    A three-year deal worth $39 million. Given that Sherman still hasn’t recovered from surgery on both Achilles tendons.

  4. Well, it’s looking like collapse. no? Let’s contact the banner towing pilot today and be ready for draft week (and every week thereafter through the 2018 season)–flying banners across Bay Area skies. Lynch and Shanahan gotta go, shame the Yorks into selling the team, etc., etc. And perhaps, calling for Grant to be brought on as the new GM–with Kim Jong Un-like powers.

    If the 9ers go 1 and 15 this year and are a total wreck, then we can look back on these idiotic player acquisitions (and other failings) and say we knew it for certain all along. If the 9ers squeeze into the playoffs as a wildcard, on strong player performance and good coaching, then we forget all about this stuff.

    Htwaits nailed it….the Eeyore Syndrome. Gonna be fun!

    1. I had never heard of the eeyore syndrome but the yoda enlightened me in this regard :)

  5. great why not sign anyone and save the money for next year? oh wait that was Baalke. People it is not our money

  6. Grant and a few of you on here really do sound like you think you know better than Lynch and Shanahan.

    Grant also should know better than to throw around yard per carry too much, its scheme and O-line HIGHLY DEPENDENT. Is Breida a better runner than Mckinnon?- I highly highly doubt it based on what we’ve seen from the two, but Mckinnon will be the #1 – stop using featured back as it only exists for Le’veon, and a couple others. Realize that this is the way the league is going and Shanahan is an offensive guru in my mind.

    Just sit back and enjoy the ride you negative nancys. Or do a better job of putting context to stats and realize he was one of the best Yards Per Catch which is much more stable and is one of the best athletes in the NFL.

    I’m excited to see what the both Mckinnon and Juice do next year whatever they’re getting paid.

  7. I must say I am totally flummoxed with recent signings and contracts. There are a lot of question marks and gambles.

    1. Sherman might be a good signing assuming that the recovers from Achilles . (health question mark)
    2. We have two fast , elusive , smallish running backs and another who is a fumble factory . Do we have an A gap RB? Do we have a 4th and goal ball on the 1 RB? (question mark /contract head scratcher)
    3. Is there a way to quantify elusiveness ?
    4. Ward – 8 million. Are you F-ing kidding me. (health question mark /contract head scratcher)
    5. Coyle/Kilgore contracts. Seems like we are shelling out a lot of money for guys who will be back ups. (contract head scratcher)

    1. 1. Sherman might be a good signing assuming that the recovers from Achilles . (health question mark)
      – This was a great signing, and We must hope that he maxes this contract because if he does, it means he’s playing at an all pro level. But it should not stop them from going after another corner.
      2. We have two fast , elusive , smallish running backs and another who is a fumble factory . Do we have an A gap RB? Do we have a 4th and goal ball on the 1 RB? (question mark /contract head scratcher)
      – This one doesnt make as much sense but its not as bad as everyone is saying… the niners can easily get out of this after the 2nd year and are only really overpaying for one year.
      4. Ward – 8 million. Are you F-ing kidding me. (health question mark /contract head scratcher)
      – The reason for this is because the 49ers picked up his 5th year option. The problem was his salary was based on him playing corner not safety at the time. As a corner he would be paid as the 23rd highest paid corner basically an average NFL starter. If he his one year option was picked up as a safety he would have made far less. However, as its a one year contract… even at this price it would be nice to see where he fits in this system or rather if he does.
      5. Coyle/Kilgore contracts. Seems like we are shelling out a lot of money for guys who will be back ups. (contract head scratcher)
      – Not really these guys didnt break the bank neither one signed a big contract, it’s just a matter of NFL inflation.

      1. Overall I like what they’ve done so far. I was hoping they could get a vet WR, and am still hoping for another OG, but other than that they’ve done pretty well.

        1. Nun-uh! The sky is falling.
          Some folks should maybe cut back on their anti-depression meds, and Lynch and Shanny should contact Wiley Coyote for his connections to the Acme Mail Order Company; I bet they could just order up an edge rushed, wr, and a couple of OL.

        2. Agreed,
          I would actually still like to see them go after Fuller and Sitton. The Bears would have to match Fullers contract to keep him and and the niners shouldn’t have to give up anything if they do get him.
          Adding Sitton meanwhile gives them more flexibility in the draft making edge and Line backer the only must fill positions in the draft.

          1. Just re-watched the Niner/Bear game from last year. Fuller was an absolute standout, and I agree, Shoup, he’d be a great “get”.

      2. 1. ” We must hope ” This is not a sound strategy for filling a crucial need .
        2. Who is our between the tackles , fourth and 1 back ?
        4. ” it would be nice to see where he fits in ” There is an abundance of data which shows Ward fits in nowhere and should not have been drafted. He cant play CB or S. Big mistake.
        5. Maybe if Kilgore can play G for a bit.

        We entered fee agency with several critical needs ( G, perhaps 2nd G, Edge/leo, CB) and some lesser potential needs ( RB, MLB, #1 WR) We have not slammed shut any of those holes. Sherman is the closest we have come to filling a need and that is contingent upon him fulling recovering from a pretty serious injury at the age of 30.

        FA is not over but thus far it has me perplexed.

        1. 1. ” We must hope ” This is not a sound strategy for filling a crucial need .
          – that’s our best case scenario… the worst case scenario is he sucks and we cut him and lose next to nothing. The only other available cb for SF cost a boatload. This was a case where the opportunity was not worth the cost.

          2. Who is our between the tackles , fourth and 1 back ?
          Juice. Last year in short yardage situations Kyle seemed to trust Brieda more than Hyde. The issues the 49ers had in those spots were more line related than anything.
          As to your Ward statement it’s simply not true. Ward has changed positions or schemes every year… slot corner, boundary corner, safety, single high safety… he’s never had a chance to settle in to any role. And the salary is only for one season, in a year when i would be shocked if they got within 10 million of the cap. It’s basically a 1 year prove it deal, where he will finally play the same position in the same scheme for 2 years in a row.
          So the question is… if he’s not stopping them from signing anyone with his cap number this year or in the future, why is it bad to keep him? Do you honestly believe he’s not worth the roster spot? Are you saying there are 8 better db’s, let alone 42 better men on the roster?

  8. “We see Weston as one of the top young interior offensive linemen in the NFL,” Lynch said. “His athleticism, intelligence and attitude are a perfect fit for our scheme.

    Might be that he is moving to the guard position.

      1. Prime, I think it was a salary dump. The dolphins took on entire contract plus bonus. Niners owe him nothing

        1. Kigore was like human super glue to get rid of. Next one to dispose of is Beadlesjuice.

              1. The only chance Nelson has is if the Giants take a quarterback, and I get the sense that they are going to try and get the most from Eli this year. That’s why I have them taking Nelson. Nelson would let Donald know we’re no longer ducking around….

  9. I think they did Kilgore a solid to give him the opportunity to start somewhere- otherwise, I would have preferred to keep him as his contract was reasonable and he would have provided depth at C/G, and considering the compensation wasn’t much to speak of and he did pretty well in the second half and knows the system. I suppose it allows them to focus on drafting a Guard who can back up the Center and look to develop a couple of Tackles, in addition to bringing in another Guard.

  10. “Kilgore traded”

    Great. So we are right back where we were one week ago – still in need of G and perhaps a 2nd G. We can’t fill every vacancy with draft.

      1. We just got a significantly better C to start and you’re complaining? – this move mirrors the Falcons move to go get Alex Mack, I think it worked out pretty well for them so why don’t you give Shanny and crew a bit of time before being upset?

        Kilgore wasn’t a starter in my opinion so we just shipped off $$

  11. You guys just do not understand it. The team wants to have a bad line. If the line was good at pass protection Jimmy G would not be able to showcase his quick release.

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