Trent Baalke confirmed a fairly important piece of news to the media on Wednesday following Chip Kelly's press conference. Baalke said that running back Carlos Hyde had surgery late in the season on his injured foot, and is expected to be ready in time for the team's offseason workout program.
The 49ers will get their program going in early April due to having a new head coach. The early part is strength and conditioning work, so there is not a huge rush. The big key will come when they start implementing the playbook. Kelly said the offense will look something like what we saw in Philadelphia, but it would obviously be tweaked based on the personnel. Hyde is a guy that will be part of the tweaks, so getting him back on the field will be important.
The 49ers running back depth chart currently includes Hyde, Mike Davis, Jarryd Hayne, DuJuan Harris, and Kendall Gaskins. Shaun Draughn and Reggie Bush are both set to hit free agency. Bush was never able to stay consistently healthy, and would seemingly be done in Santa Clara. Draughn was brought in after Hyde and Bush got hurt, and he did solid work. Draughn went on injured reserve late in the season with a knee injury, but it does not sound like a huge problem. I am intrigued to see if the 49ers bring him back for another year.