Golden Nuggets: Alfred Morris signing shakes up RB battles

Wednesday, August 15th, 2018 edition of the Golden Nuggets, a daily compilation of San Francisco 49ers links from the Internet

By Billy Kerr@bkerr725 Aug 15, 2018, 2:00am PDT

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The past week has not been kind to the 49ers running backs. In the 1st preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys, Matt Breida sustained a separated shoulder and could be out until the start of the regular season. Big free agent signing Jerick McKinnon suffered a calf strain at practice over the weekend. The injury will keep him out at least this coming week. These two were expected to be the top 2 running backs on the depth chart.

To add some insurance to the running back position, the 49ers signed veteran Alfred Morris to a 1 year deal. Alfred, who played the last 2 years with Dallas, played with Kyle Shanahan in his Washington days. Alfred had 2 of his best years under Kyle’s system. He had 1,600 and 1,300 yards in the 2 seasons with Kyle. Having a player that knows his offense is a big plus for Kyle if anything happens to Jerick and Matt. He can help all the running backs with learning the scheme Kyle wants to run.

The Alfred Morris signing shakes up the running back depth and puts more pressure on the rest of the backs. Joe Williams, who will have more snaps to impress the coaching staff, needs to take advantage of the extra snaps to make this roster. He was the 49ers’ 4th round pick last year and missed the season with an injury. Raheem Mostert will also get more chances at running back. He is a major contributor on special teams, which should help him make the squad. Jeremy McNichols and Jeff Wilson seem to be long shots to make the 53 man roster.

49ers links

Expecting them to move up as the season goes | Preseason power ranking (ESPN)

Mike McGlinchey (Chichester)

Looking for him to be a playmaker | Dante Pettis is the 49ers’ rookie to watch (Johnson)

A former Kyle Shanahan player | Alfred Morris signed (Williams)

Making room for Alfred Morris | Roster moves (49ers staff)

Monday practice highlights (Martin)

1 year deal for Alfred (Inman)

Houston practices (Maiocco)

Interesting move | The Alfred Morris signing (Inman)

Alan Knott waived (Williams)

Hopefully they can get healthy for the season | Kyle on the team’s injuries (Branch)