The San Francisco 49ers haven’t been very active in free agency, but they did manage to bring back a handful of their own free agents.
One of those free agent signings was running back Patrick Taylor III. The club officially announced his one-year contract Friday.
Taylor joined the 49ers last offseason as a free agent from the Green Bay Packers. He was on the roster until Christian McCaffrey returned from his Achilles injury. Taylor was released and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster again when McCaffrey went down in Week 13 with a knee injury.
Bringing Taylor back gives the 49ers four RBs on their roster. He joins McCaffrey, Isaac Guerendo and Israel Abanikanda. Taylor in particular is intriguing because he could wind up replacing the role Jordan Mason would have played before he was traded to the Minnesota Vikings.
Mason was the 49ers’ leading rusher last season, but he was likely set to take on a third RB role behind McCaffrey and Guerendo. That’s a role Mason was vastly overqualified for. Taylor, on the other hand, is a nice tertiary compliment to the two RBs ahead of him on the depth chart.
He took on some third-down work with the Packers, and last season acquitted himself well in the season finale when he was thrust into the lead RB role because Guerendo suffered a knee injury. Taylor in that game posted 109 rushing yards on 17 carries.
It isn’t a lock that Taylor makes the roster. Abanikanda will be in the running for that role. San Francisco could add another RB through the draft who lands behind Guerendo on the depth chart.
Taylor has played in 47 games in four seasons as a pro. He has 444 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns on 104 attempts. He also has 17 catches for 94 yards on 31 targets.
