49ers running back Jerick McKinnon suffered a knee injury during team drills in Saturday’s practice.
“He made a cut on air,” Kyle Shanahan told reporters on a conference call Saturday. “(He) went down. It looked awkward. We’re concerned about it.”
The 49ers are worried McKinnon may have suffered an ACL tear, consequently ending his 2018 season before it really started.
The news of a potentially serious injury to McKinnon is a major blow for a 49ers running attack built around him. They signed McKinnon to a four-year deal with $11.7 million in March, seemingly securing their workhorse back in Shanahan’s outside-zone rushing attack for the foreseeable future.
But injuries have hampered McKinnon throughout the preseason. He suffered a calf strain in practice following the preseason opener and had not played in any of the ensuing preseason games. Originally thought to be a knee injury, McKinnon seemingly dodged a bullet, as his timetable projected his return Week 1.
The tone is much different with his injury Saturday. If he were to miss extended time, and potentially the whole season, the 49ers would turn to Matt Breida and recently acquired Alfred Morris, assuming he makes the team, to shoulder the load at running back.