The San Francisco 49ers recently signed Tevin Coleman. How will that affect Jerick McKinnon?

Former Atlanta Falcons running back Tevin Coleman shocked the Free Agency pool when he inked a deal with the San Francisco 49ers. Although Coleman didn’t exactly strike a massive market, it seemed unlikely that the San Francisco 49ers would go after him.

Just last season, the 49ers signed McKinnon to a four-year deal, worth $30 million. At the time, the deal seemed a bit rich, for a running back who has ultimately come second to another guy in the running back by committee in Minnesota. Ironically enough, the 49ers snagged Coleman, who enters onto the team coming from a very similar situation.

Perhaps, Kyle Shannahan prematurely signed McKinnon in hopes to fill the void of Coleman last season? Just remember, before Shannahan was out in San Francisco, he was running the Atlanta Falcons offense where Devonta Freeman and Coleman thrived. Now, the 49ers have both, McKinnon, Coleman, along with Matt Breida. Does the signing of Coleman mark the end for McKinnon? Or does Kyle Shannahan expect them to coexist?

McKinnon could find himself pushed to the back

Right now, McKinnon is nursing a knee injury that delayed his debut with the 49ers. If the season were to start tomorrow with a healthy McKinnon though, Shannahan expects his three core running backs to get a taste of the carries.

The idea of having three running back rotate is far from puzzling. The purpose of having two running backs who essentially offer up the same skillset, and are far from being a dominant threat in either of the passing or run game makes it hard to succeed sometimes.

The positives that come from McKinnon and Coleman is the fact that you can plug and play either of them and expect similar results. The negative is the obvious – neither of them two running backs can honestly take over a game. According to the Niners, they intend on keeping both backs on board.

You can’t tell me though that the Niners wouldn’t consider moving a $30 million man in McKinnon when Shannahan got the player that he was really searching for with Coleman for a lot less. For now, they will both stay in San Francisco, but don’t be surprised if the 49ers start fielding calls regarding McKinnon.