San Francisco 49ers running back Carlos Hyde is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on March 14. For a while now, it was assumed that the 49ers would be willing to let Hyde test the open market rather than make a long-term commitment to the running back. On Wednesday, general manager John Lynch indicated that might not necessarily be the case.
Lynch told reporters that the 49ers plan to meet with Hyde's agent, Doug Hendrickson, at the 2018 NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
"We'll talk to him this week," Lynch said. "Carlos is a really good football player for us. We'll see what happens there."
Hyde, who was a second-round draft pick out of Ohio State in 2014, has spent his entire four-year career with the 49ers. 2017 was the first year that saw Hyde start all 16 games of a season. He carried the football 240 times for 938 yards, eight touchdowns, and had a career-high 59 receptions for 350 yards. He had five games with at least one touchdown, which includes three with multiple scores.
Over his career, Hyde has carried the football 655 times for 2,729 yards and 21 touchdowns while fumbling the football nine times and losing five. He also has 109 receptions for 634 yards and three touchdowns.
Lynch also provided an update on linebacker Malcolm Smith, who did not play a snap for the 49ers in 2017. Smith was placed on injured reserve last August after suffering a torn pectoral muscle in front of over 25,000 fans during an open training camp practice held at Levi's Stadium.
Lynch says Smith will be ready for the beginning of the 49ers' offseason program, which starts on April 16.
"Malcolm is doing great," the general manager said. "Right at the start of the offseason, he'll be full-go. I've been assured of that."
Another injury update that Lynch provided was for tackle Trent Brown, who he says is "ahead of schedule" in his recovery from shoulder surgery.