The 49ers added some running back depth in the form of former Packers backup Patrick Taylor, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Taylor joins an already crowded room as a likely camp body who will attempt to break into a bigger role over the offseason.
Taylor was an undrafted signee for the Packers out of Memphis in 2020. After two stellar years with the Tigers in which he rushed for a combined 1,988 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns, Taylor would lose the back half of his senior year to a foot injury.
Green Bay took a flyer on him as an undrafted free agent, and he spent his entire rookie season on the reserve/non-football injury list before making his way to the practice squad in 2021.
In his sophomore season, Taylor would be promoted to the active roster in November to make his NFL debut, appearing in nine games that season while rushing for 89 yards and a touchdown. In the two years since, he has played in 15 games, rushing for 172 yards.
He didn’t spend all of the 2023 season in Green Bay, though. The Packers actually waived Taylor after signing him to their active roster in October.
As a free agent, the Patriots signed Taylor to their own practice squad. Green Bay made the move to bring him back, signing him off New England’s practice squad to their active roster, where he would spend the remainder of the season.
In San Francisco, Taylor arrives to a room that already contains the highest-paid running back in the NFL in Christian McCaffrey. Elijah Mitchell and Jordan Mason both shared backup duties pretty equally in 2023, though Mitchell missed quite a few games with injury, and both are set to return.
Taylor brings a bit more receiving experience to the room, but McCaffrey is pretty good at that, too.
So in Taylor comes with a bit of competition ahead of him. He’ll try to earn his way onto the roster and, perhaps, could be stashed to use in the case of further missed time by Mitchell or others.
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