Will the San Francisco 49ers attempt to re-sign running back Carlos Hyde? Should they? Fans have discussed the topic at great length. Hyde is scheduled to hit the open market in March. Should he reach free agency, Hyde is likely to attract some interest from other NFL teams. The 49ers could wait and see how much interest he draws and then determine if they are willing to outspend the competition.
Or the 49ers could be willing to enter the 2018 season with a combination of second-year running back Matt Breida and untested Joe Williams, who was the team's fourth-round draft pick last year. The team could also add another running back via free agency or the draft and save a significant amount of money compared to the cost of bringing Hyde back.
Hyde wants to return to San Francisco. He believes in head coach Kyle Shanahan and his system. Hyde believes in the team's blueprint so much that he predicted it would win the Super Bowl next season.
"Minus our record, we're a really good football team," Hyde said following the 49ers' win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on December 24. "Next year, we're going to win the Super Bowl."
"I feel we've got a chance to go the Super Bowl next year and I don't want to go to another team," he continued.
While Hyde believes in the 49ers, one of the team's legendary running backs believes in Hyde. Roger Craig would love to see the impending free agent return to San Francisco.
"I think Carlos Hyde is an ideal running back for the team," Craig said during a discussion with Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area on the "49ers Insider" podcast. "It's just getting used to that new system ... I would love to see Carlos stay here. He's a great running back. He can make it happen. He just needs to catch the ball more because I know they're going to be throwing the ball a lot. Jimmy [Garoppolo] is going to be throwing the ball a lot, so you've got to be more of a receiver now."
Hyde has already shown that he can be a versatile player when called upon to do so. While he once again failed to cross the 1,000-yard milestone while rushing the football, he had 1,288 all-purpose yards in 2017. Hyde's 59 receptions for 350 yards were each career bests. He also stayed healthy in 2017, starting all 16 games for the first time in his career.
Craig knows something about being a versatile player. In 11 NFL seasons, he accumulated 4,911 receiving yards and 17 touchdown receptions to go along with his 8,189 rushing yards and 56 touchdowns on the ground. Craig added 606 receiving yards and two touchdown receptions to his 841 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns in 18 career playoff appearances.
"You've got to be able to catch the ball, and run routes, and do the things that I kind of did in the 80's," he said.
You can listen to the entire interview with Craig below.