Former 49ers Running Back Returns After Three Years with the Dolphins

The 49ers just signed one of their former running backs.

No, not Roger Craig or Ricky Watters or Garrison Hearst or Frank Gore or Carlos Hyde or Jerick McKinnon or Tevin Coleman, although technically they're all available. Instead, the 49ers signed Jeff Wilson Jr., according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Wilson Jr. probably won't make the 49ers' 53-man roster. He's almost 30, he carried the ball just 16 times last season and broke zero tackles. He's not the player he was when he was on the 49ers the first time from 2018 to 2022. He's nearing the end of his career.

Last week, the 49ers worked out Wilson Jr., but ultimately decided to sign veteran running back Ameer Abdullah instead, because Abdullah has a bit more juice left in his legs than Wilson Jr. does. But Abdullah left Saturday night's preseason loss to the Broncos with a rib injury, and those can take weeks to heal. Which means the 49ers need another body at running back just to get through the rest of training camp and the preseason.

Besides Wilson Jr., the only healthy running backs on the 49ers' 90-man roster are Corey Kiner, Patrick Taylor Jr. and Christian McCaffrey, who probably won't play in the preseason. Which means Kiner and Taylor Jr. would have to take all the reps if the 49ers hadn't signed Wilson Jr. So he's here to keep the other running back fresh and healthy.

If Wilson Jr. makes the 53-man roster at the end of the month, that would mean the 49ers are extremely banged up. They want Isaac Guerendo and Jordan James to be key contributors this season, but both are injured. Guerendo in particular seems to be injury-prone, and James is a rookie. He might not contribute much right away if he misses preseason.

Right now, the 49ers' backup running back is Taylor Jr., who's 27 and is similar to Wilson Jr.. They're both upright runners who run extremely hard. Taylor Jr. is just a younger, bigger version. And on Saturday night, Taylor Jr. had a nice touchdown run against the Broncos starting defense. If he stays healthy, he seems like the favorite to be McCaffrey's backup all season. He's the closest thing they have to Jordan Mason on the roster.

This week, the 49ers will have two practices in Santa Clara, then they'll fly to Henderson, Nevada, and practice against the Raiders once and play a preseason game against them as well. They'll need Wilson Jr. to hit the ground running so the rest of the running backs don't wear down.