The San Francisco 49ers have placed Carlos Hyde on season-ending IR with a foot injury and that means Shaun Draughn likely will be the starter for the rest of the year for Blaine Gabbert. Hyde joins Colin Kaepernick on the injured list and there is a chance that Kaepernick could return in 2016 despite his contract situation and speculation that he could be traded.
The 49ers have had a tough season overall and the injury to Hyde is the latest development for the team, who fell to 4-9 after losing to the Browns on Sunday. According to NFL.com, the team announced the news about Hyde over the weekend and now his season is over after dealing with a stress fracture in his foot. Hyde has not played for the 49ers since Week 7 and the team had hoped that he could return late in the season, but that will not be happening now that the running back has been placed on IR.
Hyde started the season strong with a big game against the Vikings with 168 rushing yards, but he did not end up with a 100-yard game the rest of the season after Week 1. Hyde scored three rushing touchdowns and finished the season with 470 rushing yards and now he will be focusing on returning healthy for 2016. The 49ers have used Shaun Draughn as the starter with Hyde out along with Travaris Cadet and now Draughn will likely continue to get the bulk of the carries with Hyde done for the season.
Draughn comes in after rushing for 43 yards against the Browns in Week 14 and this season he has 235 yards in 10 games played for the 49ers. Draughn has not gone over 100 yards rushing in any game this season and now he has a tough matchup coming in Week 15 against the Bengals defense. The 49ers finish the season with the Bengals, Lions and Rams and they are battling for NFL draft position, as they are sitting in the bottom of the NFC West division heading into the weekend.
Blaine Gabbert has continued to start with Colin Kaepernick out for the season and depending on how he finishes the year, Gabbert could get consideration to start for the team next season. There has been a ton of speculation that Kaepernick could get cut or traded in the offseason, but Adam Schefter at ESPN reports that the 49ers are open to bringing Kaepernick back for next year. Kaepernick had a down season before getting injured and the team may want to see what they have in the quarterback before getting rid of him.
The team should be in decent position in the draft next year and could go after another quarterback, but that is still far ahead in the future. Kaepernick had shoulder surgery in November and will be out for at least four months and the 49ers will have to evaluate the situation when he is recovered. Kaepernick completed less than 60 percent of his passes in nine games this season and the Niners offense was inconsistent while he was starting. Kaepernick has a lot of potential and physical ability and the 49ers will have to evaluate what to do with the quarterback in 2016.
