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Report: Reggie Bush and 49ers reach agreement

By CM Towle

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The San Francisco 49ers are reportedly ready to sign former Lions running back and current free agent Reggie Bush.

The 49ers lost Frank Gore recently, but it looks like they’re ready to sign another complementary backfield piece in running back Reggie Bush. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Niners have reached an agreement with Bush.

This means that Bush will probably platoon in the backfield with former Gore understudy Carlos Hyde, as well as Kendall Hunter. Bush was also linked with the Patriots, who are trying to find a replacement for Shane Vereen.

Bush could help the Niners return the screen pass to their offensive arsenal. The Niners have hardly ever used their running backs in this capacity in recent years. However, Bush leads all NFL running backs in receptions, with 466, and has had seven seasons out of nine with 40 catches per season. He was limited in his playing time with the Lions last year due to back and ankle injuries. He only played in 11 games, which is his fewest since 2010. In spite of that, he still had 40 catches for 253 yards and 76 carries for 297 yards, good enough for 3.9 yards per carry.

The year before, Bush had over 1,000 yards and averaged 4.5 yards per carry and was ranked eighth in the league in yards from scrimmage. Bush is only one season removed from that outstanding season and he has averaged  over 1,000 rushing yards and 40 catches per season from 2011 to 2013. Even though he is 30, an age where running backs tend to fall off a cliff, Bush probably isn’t washed up yet. Not if he can recover from injuries and platoon the position with Hyde.

The Niners got away from the screen pass largely in the Harbaugh years. Gore only averaged 18 receptions in the last four seasons, a big difference from his previous 51 catches per season between 2006 and 2010.

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