Tha San Francisco 49ers racked up the 4th win in a row with Jimmy Garoppolo at the helm. Carlos Hyde, who will be a free agent at the end of the season, likes what he sees and says he definitely wants to be a part of it.
While the new regime has an affinity for the talent it has found, as all personnel departments do, Hyde may just have a chance to stay in Santa Clara if the price is right. The team has so many other needs that they may focus their draft resources in another direction other than running back. Hyde would not be able to pull a top tier contract with his current production levels but could work in plenty of performance incentives.
After the game, Hyde was very complimentary of Garoppolo and his leadership style.
He’s just a natural leader. He takes command in the huddle. Even out of the huddle in the locker room before we go out he says something before we go out, pump up all the guys, it’s exciting. You can feel that energy from him, it’s contagious. All that energy is spreading through all the rest of the players and we go out and play with that energy you see games like that, we come out with wins.
He sees what Garoppolo can do and predicts a very bright future ahead, or even if they could start the season over again.
Man if we could start all over, I think we’d be going to the Super Bowl. I think we’d have a good chance to go.
Hyde shared that he senses the excitement in the building about where the team is going especially after experiencing the rough times the he’s seen as a 49er. When asked about his own future with the team he was very emphatic about his desire to stay.
Shoot, I feel good about that too. I definitely want to be a part of this. Like I said, I think we got a good chance to go to the Super Bowl next year so I don’t want to go to any other team. I like the guys here, I like my teammates here, I like my coaches here, the whole bond that we built here. I really appreciate that and it’s been really good.
With the emergence of Matt Breida, who actually led the team in rushing yards facing the Jaguars, Hyde’s representation will have to be strategic with their negotiations. The 49ers still have untested back Joe Williams to develop next season on the roster as well. I doubt the 49ers will have too much trouble finding free agents who will want to come to Santa Clara. They may even come at a reduced price because they see what direction the team is headed.