49ers sign RB Jacques Patrick off the Bengals’ practice squad

What was once a deep position is now thinner than ever as the 49ers lost another running back for significant time on Sunday as JaMycal Hasty suffered a high-ankle sprain and will miss significant time.

The Niners are already without Jeff Wilson Jr. for another month or so. Starting running back, Raheem Mostert had season-ending surgery to repair his knee a week ago. Elijah Mitchell (shoulder) and Trey Sermon (concussion) could play Sunday, but they’re day-to-day.

Enter, Jacques Patrick. The former four-star recruit was the fourth-highest-rated running back in the nation coming out of high school. He’ll be the biggest back Kyle Shanahan has had on the 49ers at 6-foot-2, 234 pounds.

For those of you that haven’t seen Patrick, he has impressive straight-line speed for a back his size. At Florida State’s Pro Day, Patrick ran a 4.69 40-yard dash. He’ll turn that speed into power and become difficult to tackle. As you might imagine, he doesn’t have the same shiftiness as a smaller back.

During the preseason for the Bengals, Patrick carried the ball 31 times for 156 yards. For whatever it’s worth, PFF graded him as an 84.0 rushing grade during the preseason.

Before his stint with the Bengals, Patrick starred in the XFL where he had 60 carries for 254 yards and two touchdowns. Here is a look at his highlights:

If Patrick is active this Sunday, that would mean the team likes him over Kerryon Johnson or one of the veteran running backs they worked out on Monday between T.J. Yeldon, Duke Johnson, and Lamar Miller.

Mitchell has received the brunt of the workload through two weeks. We’ll see if that changes if Sermon and Patrick are the other two backs.