The San Francisco 49ers are currently facing a 7-game losing streak that has stretched out from Week 2 But aside from this, they also lost starting running back Carlos Hyde due to a shoulder injury.
Hyde has been absent after suffering an injury during the Week 7 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Originally, he was expected to return to playing condition following the 49ers' bye week.
However, in last Sunday's game, Hyde did not enter the field with the rest of the team. Instead, the San Francisco franchise turned to backup DuJuan Harris as its starting running back for the match.
It is not yet clear when Hyde will be able to return to the active list but if things don't work out well for him and the 49ers, then the athlete could be facing a long absence from games. His injury could even mark the end of his season with the team.
This, of course, is not ideal for any team, especially the 49ers which haven't won a single game yet since Week 1. Hyde has been an exceptional player for the team and has been credited with a total of 109 carries for 429 yards. In other words, the team just lost a valuable contributor.
As for their remaining running backs Harris, Mike Davis and Shaun Draughn, despite their athleticism, none of them have made more than a hundred yards this season.
Depending on the length of Hyde's absence and the performance of the backup running backs, the 49ers could get forced to create drastic changes to their current roster. This will most likely begin with waiving a couple of players to create roster and salary spaces. Once this has been done, the team will probably turn to the free agency pool to bring in someone who can add depth and experience to their running back bench.
Currently, this seems like the only way to save the 49ers from their current rut. Since changing quarterbacks internally did not work, maybe it's time to bring in new players to improve the lineup.
