San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch joined 95.7 The Game on Tuesday night and discussed the team's running back position, which has been stricken with injuries.
Fans shouldn't expect to see the 49ers' top two running backs, Jerick McKinnon and Matt Breida, until Week 1 of the regular season against the Minnesota Vikings. McKinnon is dealing with a calf injury sustained during practice while, days earlier, Breida suffered a separated shoulder during the 49ers' exhibition opener against the Dallas Cowboys.
"I think you would love to see a guy like [McKinnon] really have an opportunity to really establish a rhythm and get comfortable with the first unit and get comfortable with this playbook," Lynch said on The Damon Bruce Show. "It's an immense playbook. It's a complicated playbook. The nice thing is the run scheme isn't overly complicated. We run similar concepts out of different looks over and over.
"I think he was starting to really get into that rhythm and so, is it ideal? Absolutely not, but I think Jet got a good feel of what we want during the course of the entire offseason. That goes back to OTAs and all that.
"I think we also got a feel on what he does best. It's certainly not what you'd want but the other side of it is he'll be fresh, and he'll have those fresh legs Week 1, and we look forward to having him back."
The 49ers signed former Washington Redskins and Cowboys running back Alfred Morris following the injury to McKinnon. He did not play on Saturday night against the Houston Texans but is expected to make an appearance against the Indianapolis Colts this weekend.
Does the Morris signing show a lack of confidence in the running backs competing behind McKinnon and Breida? Morris is a very different type of back. The 49ers have several fast players within the group, which is what made Morris so attractive.
"You want to have guys who can roll, but I think you want a little changeup as well," Lynch responded. "That's something, frankly, we were a little concerned about. I've said many times, I think Jet McKinnon, although smaller in stature, he plays big and I think that will prove itself throughout his career here.
"I think Alfred Morris is a guy that Kyle and his staff have had great familiarity with. He was out there. We had been in conversations with him for some time before Jerick got hurt, and was a guy that, frankly, we didn't feel we like we needed for a whole offseason. We wanted to give as many reps to the young guys as possible.
"When we started to have some injuries, we thought it was the perfect time to pull the trigger. Alfred is rounding himself into shape and getting back comfortable with the system, and we're excited to see him get some opportunities in these last preseason games and see where he's at."
Click here to listen to the entire interview with Lynch.
