The 49ers added more versatile depth to the running back room Tuesday by signing Jeremy McNichols to a one-year contract, the team announced.
The move comes one day after San Francisco reportedly worked out four backs Monday afternoon: McNichols, Duke Johnson, Brian Hill and Jason Huntley, per ESPN's Field Yates.
In order to make room on the roster for McNichols, the 49ers also waived undrafted running back Ronald Awatt.
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McNichols spent the 2022 NFL season on the Pittsburgh Steelers' practice squad, and the 27-year-old provides San Francisco with more depth as third-year back Elijah Mitchell deals with a adductor strain expected to keep him out of action for at least another week.
In his five-year NFL career, McNichols has appeared in 34 games and averaged 4.0 yards rushing across 90 carries with one touchdown, while also tallying 40 receptions for 295 yards receiving and a touchdown through the air.
The 49ers Faithful might recognize McNichols from Season 12 of the show "Hard Knocks." The running back was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2017 NFL Draft that year, and his struggles with the team and lead-up to his release were documented on the show.
McNichols was signed to San Francisco's practice squad in September 2017, two days after he was cut by the Bucs, and he appeared in two games for the team. After spending that season and the 2018 offseason with the 49ers, he went on the spend time with the Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos, Tennessee Titans, Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars, Atlanta Falcons and Steelers.
