The San Francisco 49ers brought in three veteran running backs for workouts Thursday as their backfield depth takes a hit during training camp, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter: Raheem Blackshear, Khalil Herbert and Owen Wright.
The tryouts come after second-year back Jordan James suffered a broken rib during Monday's practice, an injury expected to sideline him for a stretch. James had been competing directly with third-round rookie Kaelon Black for the primary backup job behind Christian McCaffrey. San Francisco also placed Isaac Guerendo on the physically unable to perform list this week, further thinning a room that already lost depth this offseason.
Herbert is the most established of the trio. A sixth-round pick by the Bears in 2021 out
of Virginia Tech, he's played 63 career games with 13 starts across stints with the Bears, Bengals and Jets, totaling 1,957 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on 4.7 yards per carry, plus 54 catches for 316 yards and two scores. His best season came in 2022, when he was Chicago's third-leading rusher with 731 yards and four touchdowns. He appeared in seven games for the Jets last season, managing just 52 rushing yards, and has been unsigned since.
Blackshear, 27, went undrafted out of Rutgers in 2022 and spent his entire NFL career with the Panthers. Over 41 games and two starts, he's rushed for 203 yards and three touchdowns while adding 16 receptions for 138 yards, mostly working as a change-of-pace and return option. He's bounced on and off practice squads since, including a stop with the Jets last season.
Wright is the least experienced of the group. He signed with the Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2023 and has appeared in just four career games between Baltimore and the Buccaneers, totaling six rushing yards on three carries.
Notably, Blackshear and Herbert were teammates at Virginia Tech in 2020, and all three backs share a similar build — each is listed at 5-foot-9 with return specialist experience, a profile that mirrors James' skill set.
For now, James' absence figures to open the door for Black to seize the No. 2 job behind McCaffrey, with Patrick Taylor Jr. and Sincere McCormick also positioned to soak up camp reps.
But with Guerendo now on PUP and James banged up, general manager John Lynch and the front office are clearly hedging against a thin room heading into the preseason. Whether any of Thursday's tryout group earns a contract will depend on how camp practices shake out over the coming days.
This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers work out 3 veterans after injuries to RB room
