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Running back Jerick McKinnon hasn't taken a meaningful snap since January 21, 2018, when he was with the Minnesota Vikings. Less than two months later, he was signing a new contract with the San Francisco 49ers.
At the time, Kyle Shanahan had big plans for McKinnon. The versatile running back, who was a threat carrying and catching the football, was to be a featured piece of the coach's offense.
"We brought Jet here for a reason a few years ago,"
Shanahan recently said on KNBR. "And we went into that year thinking about adding a receiver in free agency. All the receivers out there, we didn't really think fit the role of what they were all getting paid.
"And we thought there was a running back, who, at the time, we thought could come in here and be our starting running back, but more importantly, be a guy that we got the ball to a lot in the pass game."
McKinnon has yet to step onto the football field for a regular-season game with the 49ers. An ACL injury ended his 2018 season before it started. A setback eliminated his 2019 campaign.
Now, two years later, McKinnon is eager to prove doubters wrong.
Mark Willard of KNBR asked McKinnon on Thursday how he is feeling. Does the running back feel as fast as he once did?
"I haven't ran the 40, but I feel fast, and I feel quick, of course," McKinnon responded.
McKinnon has impressed during training camp. 49ers linebackers, at times, have
struggled to keep up with the running back during practices. And the Niners have some pretty good linebackers in
Fred Warner, Kwon Alexander, and
Dre Greenlaw, so that is saying something.
Does that mean McKinnon is back to his old self? Is he once again the running back that prompted the 49ers to offer a massive contract? McKinnon doesn't feel he is that same player.
"I'd just say I'm better," McKinnon said. "I've always been self-motivated. I've never really had to have anybody get me going. I just wake up every morning, I look back on everything I've been through the past two years, another switch turns on. Coming into camp, all those things over the past two years have just been driving motivators for me leading up to the season."
Teammates have praised McKinnon at every opportunity. Right tackle Mike McGlinchey is excited to see the running back finally step onto the football field and contribute this season.
"I think he's going to add a tremendous amount of things to our offense," McGlinchey told reporters on Thursday. "I think he's going to be able to be extremely versatile in the position that he's in. He obviously has one of the great masterminds in the game to help him expose all of his talents and all of that stuff in Kyle.
"I know how excited the coaching staff is to get him back and to be able to have him as a tool and a weapon for us. ... It's going to be an awesome thing to see him finally in action for the 49ers, and it's only going to help us, hopefully, win more games."
You can listen to the entire conversation with McKinnon below.
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel will be wearing No. 1 the next time he steps onto the football field, leaving behind his No. 19 jersey. It's an unfortunate change for any fan who previously invested in a Deebo jersey—unless they consider it a throwback.
Newly signed wide receiver Trent Taylor quickly claimed No. 19 after rejoining the team on a one-year deal following three seasons elsewhere. Taylor last wore No. 15 with the 49ers, a number currently worn by wide receiver Jauan Jennings. Taylor also wore No. 81 with the team.
The 49ers' official team site has listed the jersey numbers for several of the team's free-agent newcomers (and Maliek Collins, acquired via a
The San Francisco 49ers appear to have found their quarterback. It was a bumpy road on the journey to locate him, too. There was the up-and-down tenure of Jimmy Garoppolo, whose relationship with Head Coach Kyle Shanahan seemed dysfunctional, at times. Then there was the short-lived Trey Lance experiment.
Garoppolo and Lance are no longer being with the team, and one major reason is the emergence of Brock Purdy as the team's QB. Purdy finished his second season with a trip to the Super Bowl, after having a Pro Bowl season in which he finished with 4,280 yards and 31 touchdowns. He also led the league in multiple statistics, including passer rating (113.0) and QBR (72.8). Additionally, Purdy finished fourth in NFL MVP voting.
But a year ago, no one knew what to
Austin Jones, the running back who spent three seasons with Stanford and the past two with USC, was among the 44 players in attendance at the San Francisco 49ers local pro day on April 10. Justin Melo of The Draft Network reports that the Bay Area team is keeping tabs on the Pac-12 standout.
After attending #Raiders, #49ers and
The San Francisco 49ers announced the signing of wide receiver Trent Taylor to a one-year deal, reuniting with the team's former fifth-round draft pick out of Louisiana Tech.
Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area was the first to report that the 49ers were discussing a potential reunion with Taylor. The receiver was part of head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch's first draft class in 2017 and spent his first four NFL seasons with the team.
The #49ers are talking with free-agent slot receiver/return man
