Carlos Hyde‘s Saturday visit to Kansas City will land him a deal. One of the Jaguars’ Friday cap casualties, the running back will sign with the three-time defending AFC West champions, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The Chiefs announced the move.
It’s a one-year deal for Hyde, who will be on his third AFC team in the past six months. The 28-year-old back’s contract is worth $2.8MM, Terez Paylor of Yahoo.com tweets.
Despite the Chiefs having accomplished far more than Hyde’s previous teams, he will have a better chance of earning a starting job in Kansas City.
The Browns traded Hyde last season to allow for Nick Chubb to commandeer their top backfield role, and the Jaguars have Leonard Fournette in tow. The Chiefs cut Kareem Hunt midway through last season, and previous third-stringer Damien Williams ended up as the No. 1-seeded team’s top running back in the playoffs.
Williams signed a two-year, $5.1MM extension and will play on a $1.7MM cap number in 2019. The Chiefs may well end up drafting another back, but a Williams-Hyde partnership may be the 2019 team’s primary tandem. Kansas City, of course, has plenty of defensive needs it may want to address in the draft. It appears the Justin Houston–Dee Ford pairing will break up, creating an immediate need that didn’t exist entering last year’s draft.
This does double as a fairly steep downgrade for Hyde, who signed a three-year, $15MM contract with the Browns last year. However, he may be a bargain for Chiefs. Hyde is relatively fresh for a running back entering his age-29 season.
Since being a 49ers second-round pick in 2014, he has only taken 827 handoffs. Injuries posed a problem earlier in Hyde’s career, but he was a 16-game San Francisco starter in 2017 and suited up for 14 contests last year. Hyde, however, averaged just 3.3 yards per carry with the Browns and Jags in 2018. His 2017 season featured a 3.9 yards-per-carry figure. Although Hyde was barely used as a receiver last season (10 catches, 33 yards), he totaled 59 receptions and 350 yards for the ’17 49ers, adding a potential auxiliary weapon to a Chiefs offense that likes to involve its backs as outlet options.
Veach has done a great job in his time as GM…
Definitely saw this coming. Solid sighing for both parties. Hyde is a decent back, not great in the pass game but can run the ball well when healthy.
I disagree. I think he is great in the passing game. In 2017 he had 59 receptions for San Francisco. That’s a lot of receptions for a running back. Hell, a lot of wide receivers don’t have that many receptions in a season!
I love Hyde in fantasy. With the exception of his time with the Jaguars, he’s always solid for 10-12 points. Really sucked when he got dealt
Not in standard scoring … PPR maybe. He will have room to run in KC…
Best place for Hyde to go
I suspect this is just a cosmetic signing. Chiefs probably won’t dial back their quick strike pass attack to bolster the run attack although they should. They ranked 26th in time of possession last season. In the playoffs the Patriots had a 23 minute advantage in ball control and it’s awfully hard to win when if your potent offense is helplessly stranded on the sidelines for that length of time.
No, it’s not a cosmetic signing. Hyde in KC offers the Chiefs a very good under passing attack to keep the DB’s and linebackers honest. Plus if the defense sets up deep, Hyde is more than capable of breaking mid-length (15 yarders) when there’s big holes on the way to open field. Just what you need with a deep passing attack like the Chiefs have. Both the pass underneath and the run on medium distance downs will help with time of possession.
Hyde will be a very good fit in KC, as long as he still has his 2017 quickness. Not sure what kind of a winter back Hyde is. It gets colder in KC than it does in San Fran.
Chiefs are also negotiating with Fullback G. O. Seek to pair up with Carlos Hyde