Power running back Brandon Jacobs is the latest addition to a reworked 49ers roster, having agreed Wednesday to a one-year contract, a league source confirmed.
The 49ers aren’t new to Jacobs, however.
And we’re not just talking about Jacobs playing for the Giants in their 20-17 overtime win over the host 49ers in last season’s NFC Championship game.
Before the Giants drafted him in 2005 and watched him run for a franchise-record 56 touchdowns over the ensuing seven seasons, Jacobs was a 49ers fan. He grew up in Houma, La., where he watched the 49ers routinely clock the New Orleans Saints, an NFC West counterpart until 2002. Jacobs even longed for a Steve Young jersey.
That affection for the 49ers helps explain why Jacobs didn’t respond rudely when 49ers icon Jerry Rice called him “a little bit soft” before last season’s NFC Championship game.
“I grew up a San Francisco 49ers fan,” Jacobs told the New York media a few days before that NFC final. “I loved Jerry Rice. I still love Jerry Rice. I give him a lot of credit for the game being the way it is today. I have nothing negative to say about Jerry Rice. If he feels that way, he feels that way. But I betcha he won’t tackle me.”
Rice, serving as an ESPN analyst, also said: “He can’t get away from a defender. This guy is 265 and it upsets me when I see him get tackled by a guy that’s like 190 or 200 pounds.”
Jacobs is coming off his second Super Bowl victory with the Giants and he follows the recent lead of wide receiver Mario Manningham, who also left the Giants to join the 49ers in what has been a busy month for the NFC runner-up.
The New York Daily News reported that Jacobs could earn up to $2 million this season. Jacobs did not visit the 49ers or any other team since being released March 9. He was due $4.9 million in base salary and a $500,000 roster bonus before his release.
Jacobs isn’t expected to unseat Frank Gore as the 49ers’ mainstay running back or endanger Kendall Hunter’s change-of-pace role.
Instead, Jacobs brings veteran experience – especially in short-yardage situations – that could jeopardize the job security of third-year back Anthony Dixon. On Twitter, Dixon posted: “Only thing I can control is my attitude N my preparation, Competition brings out da best in us. #WelcomeB.Jacobs”
A 1,000-yard-plus runner in 2007 and 2008, Jacobs’ production dropped with the ascension of Ahmad Bradshaw. Jacobs, who turns 30 on July 6, ran for 571 yards last season, eclipsing 100 yards in only one game.
Jacobs had only five carries for 13 yards in the NFC Championship game win over the 49ers. He had nine carries for 37 yards as the pass-oriented Giants won Super Bowl XLVI over New England 21-17.
“This is a good thing for him … to get into a system that focuses on running the ball first,” former Giants running back Tiki Barber told 95.7 The Game. “That’s something that he’s been clamoring for the last three years.”
Of Jacobs’ 56 rushing touchdowns, 27 have come on runs of 2 yards or shorter. In similar short-yardage situations last season, he converted first downs on 17 of 24 runs. The 49ers were 17 of 35, according to ProFootballFocus.com.
Such production could help a 49ers offense that ranked last in the league in scoring touchdowns once they reached an opponent’s 20-yard line.
The only seemingly vacant spot in the 49ers’ lineup is at right guard. In the past couple of weeks, the 49ers have worked out veteran guards Leonard Davis, Deuce Lutui and Geoff Schwartz, who since has signed with Minnesota.
Gore, who has rushed for more NFL yards than anyone in 49ers history, tallied 1,211 yards and eight touchdowns in 282 carries (4.3 yards-per-carry average) last season. Hunter, a fourth-round draft pick last season, had 112 carries for 473 yards.
Other free agents added to the 49ers’ offense this month are quarterbacks Alex Smith (re-signed) and Josh Johnson, running back Rock Cartwright and wide receivers Manningham and Randy Moss.
Coach Jim Harbaugh spoke about Moss at the NFL owners’ meeting Wednesday in Florida, telling the Boston Herald: “I’d like to see Randy put a stamp on his great NFL career, possibly a Hall of Fame career.” Harbaugh noted that the 49ers’ have done enough research on Moss to believe “the merits outweigh the risks. I’m looking forward to coaching him.”
