KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ The Chiefs have added a little depth to their running back group courtesy of a veteran pickup.
Running back Carlos Hyde signed a one-year deal with the Chiefs on Saturday, a source told The Star.
Hyde, 28, was released by the Jaguars on Friday afternoon. Traded to Jacksonville from Cleveland midway through the season for a fifth-round pick, Hyde didn't score a touchdown in the eight games he spent with the Jaguars. He played behind TJ Yeldon and Leonard Fournette and was never really able to find his niche.
Though Damien Williams enters the new year as the Chiefs' starting running back, Hyde would be a good, veteran complement. He joins a position group that also includes rookie Darrel Williams. Both Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware will be free agents when the new league year open Wednesday, and their return is far from guaranteed.
The 6-0, 229-pound back fits the prototype of the player general manager Brett Veach likes for the position.
"We certainly like bigger backs," Veach said at the NFL combine. "I think you guys know that are in the KC area, I kind of have a thing for 220-pound backs that can run and catch and block."
Playing with the 49ers in 2017, Hyde started all 16 games and finished with 938 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns. He nearly hit the 1,000-yard mark the year before, too, with 988. In five years in the league, Hyde has amassed 3,330 yards and 26 rushing touchdowns _ 21 of which came while he was in San Francisco.
Hampered by injuries, however, he has played a full season just once, in 2017 with the Niners.
Hyde was originally drafted by the 49ers in the second round of the 2014 NFL draft. After spending four seasons there, Hyde signed a three-year deal worth up to $15 million with the Browns in May.
