Until 11 days ago, Alfred Morris didn’t have a team. Now he appears a lock for making the 49ers opening-game roster.
Morris, cut loose by the Cowboys after two seasons, was a free agent until signed by San Francisco at the start of last week. On Saturday, in his first game action with his new team, the veteran running back looked good, rushing for 84 yards on 17 carries. With injuries to several 49ers running backs, Morris was the prime ballcarrier Saturday in San Francisco’s 23-17 exhibition loss to the Colts in Indianapolis.
Morris had some of his best seasons in Washington while paired with Kyle Shanahan, that team’s offensive coordinator. That’s why Shanahan and the Niners decided to bring in Morris last week after injuries to Jerick McKinnon and Matt Breida. His familiarity with Shanahan’s offense also is a plus.
“Alf did a great job for us for the two years I was with him,” Shanahan said last week when Morris was signed. “It’s not flashy, but he runs extremely hard. He’s very reliable. … He’s a hard-nose runner. You can keep handing the ball off to who’s very reliable.”
On Saturday against the Colts, that was Morris. His first carry was for 11 yards. By his fifth carry, he had 35.
Tweeted Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com: “Very clear Alfred Morris has some fresh legs. Running hard and decisively. Hasn’t been around long but hard to see how he doesn’t win a spot, especially with injuries to other RBs.”
Morris had 71 yards on 13 carries in the first half.
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Morris, 29, is a 5-foot-10, 224-pounder who spent four seasons in Washington before going to Dallas for two seasons. He has a career average of 4.4 yards per carry.
The Niners have one more exhibition game, this Thursday vs. the Los Angeles Chargers at Levi’s Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
