Carlos Hyde rumors: 5 best fits in NFL free agency

NFL teams that are in the market for a solid running back this offseason could find a diamond in the rough in Carlos Hyde.

The 2017 season was a roller coaster ride for San Francisco 49ers running back Carlos Hyde. Training camp had barely started and there were rumors swirling about Hyde not being a great fit in Kyle Shanahan’s new offense. It got to the point where there was speculation that he would be cut before the season started.

Rookie running back Joe Williams was the “new hotness” in camp and Shanahan himself convinced general manager John Lynch to take him in the 2017 draft. Williams wound up on injured reserve and Hyde worked through all the noise and wound up putting forth a solid season.

Hyde just missed out on 1,000 yards on the ground but he also smashed his career high in receptions with 59. His previous high was 27 and some of that was due to playing with rookie quarterback C.J. Beathard. The rookie was not ready to play in the NFL and took the easy outlet pass to Hyde as much as possible.

Hyde was close to 1,300 total yards and he did find the end zone eight times. Despite his label as injury prone, Hyde has played in 29 of 32 games the past two seasons. In addition, there is a perception that Hyde is a two-down back when that just simply hasn’t been the case for three seasons.

The 49ers don’t appear to be inclined to bring Hyde back with a new contract. They’re continuing their rebuild and with Williams and Matt Breida in the fold, there’s no need to spend the money on Hyde. Running backs don’t get the big money deals they used to, so whatever team brings Hyde on board is getting a rock solid option.

There are plenty of teams who could use an experienced running back that could handle 250-300 touches in an offense.

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Given the fact that the Buccaneers have a young quarterback in Jameis Winston and young weapons for him including receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin and tight end O.J. Howard, it would stand to reason they want a strong running game to help Winston run the offense. They just released Doug Martin after what can only be described as a tumultuous tenure. That leaves them with Jacquizz Rodgers, Charles Sims, and Peyton Barber. All three of these players would be a big question mark in a lead back role. Hyde would help solve that issue immediately.

The Bucs are looking to bounce back after a disaster in 2017. They were on HBO’s Hard Knocks and were a popular pick to make the playoffs. They wound finishing in the basement of the NFC South as the other three teams all made the playoffs and won at least 10 games. Tampa Bay was right around average in points per game but they were 27th in rushing yards per game. With no real running game to lean on, they were too one-dimensional. Winston turned the ball over 18 times to just 19 touchdowns.

That ratio won’t cut it and a strong run game anchored by Hyde can shift this offense in a big way. The play action game would be a huge boost to the Winston and Evans connection, and maybe Tampa could get something out of DeSean Jackson. Hyde would be in line for at least 250 touches with some combo of Rodgers, Barber, and Sims to compliment him. Tampa should do whatever they can to continue to help Winston develop and make life easy on him.