San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan saw enough from his film over those years to decide he was the player they wanted to be their starting running back, giving him a four-year deal that will guarantee him nearly $12 million in 2018.
”It was big for me,” McKinnon said Thursday. ”It was what I was hoping to have and looking for instead of staying in Minnesota and being in that third-down back role. I was looking for that opportunity. I’m glad this organization, this team, coach Shanahan felt strong enough about me and brought me in. I believe it’s the perfect fit.”
The 49ers said they heavily targeted McKinnon and center Weston Richburg as players they wanted to acquire early in free agency. Richburg agreed to a five-year deal on Wednesday and both players were introduced at a news conference Thursday.
McKinnon spent four years in Minnesota mostly as a backup after being drafted in the third round in 2014 after playing mostly quarterback in college at Georgia Southern. He has rushed for 1,918 yards with average of 4.0 yards per carry, has 142 catches for 984 yards, and has scored 12 touchdowns.
McKinnon had his most productive season last year when he ran for a career-high 570 yards,, while setting personal bests with 51 catches for 421 yards.
The addition of McKinnon replaces Carlos Hyde, who is leaving as a free agent for Cleveland. McKinnon has more speed and is a better receiving threat than Hyde and should fit well into Shanahan’s offense.
”He’s good enough to make it as a runner alone in this league. He’s good enough to make it in the pass game as just a third down threat alone, but when you can do both of those David Bakhtiari Jersey , it gives you a lot of freedom as a coach,” Shanahan said. ”Based off of what downs you put him in and that when you do put him in, the defense doesn’t know exactly what type of plays you’re trying to run because he can do it all.”
Richburg spent the past four seasons with the New York Giants but played only four games last year because of a concussion. He began his career as a left guard before moving to center in 2015. He played there the past three seasons and is considered one of the top pass-blocking players at the position and has the athleticism to thrive in Shanahan’s zone-running scheme.
The Niners are hoping Richburg has a similar impact in San Francisco as Alex Mack had in Atlanta when he joined the Falcons when Shanahan was offensive coordinator there.
”I’ve been around some real good ones in my career,” Shanahan said. ”He’s put it all on tape and he looks right there with all those guys and that’s why I value him a ton off the tape. Didn’t know a ton about him until I turned on the tape and it was as good as I’ve seen.”
With Richburg in place, the Niners traded last year’s starting center Daniel Kilgore to Miami in a deal that included a swap of seventh-round picks. The 49ers had signed Kilgore to a three-year extension last month but felt Richburg was the better option at center so worked to find a new spot for Kilgore.
It’s been a busy offseason already for San Francisco. The Niners signed quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to a five-year deal last month before he even hit free agency, signed cornerback Richard Sherman after he was cut by Seattle, re-signed defensive lineman Cassius Marsh and offensive lineman Garry Gilliam and gave an extension to receiver Marquise Goodwin.
The team also signed defensive lineman Jeremiah Attaochu to a one-year deal Thursday to help bolster the pass rush and still could make a few more moves to upgrade a team that won its final five games last season after Garoppolo took over as starter to finish 6-10.
”We feel like we’ve improved our team greatly and that excites us,” general manager John Lynch said.
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Coming off victories against a pair of the league’s best teams in their last two games, the New Jersey Devils can ill afford a letdown Tuesday night when they host the Carolina Hurricanes at the Prudential Center.
However, those wins against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning only guaranteed that the Devils (39-28-8) remain in the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot, barely holding off the red-hot Florida Panthers, who sit just one point behind New Jersey.
“We’ve certainly held tough with some of the best teams and the hardest buildings to play in Vincent Trocheck Jersey ,” Devils forward Blake Coleman told northjersey.com. “If that doesn’t give you confidence going into these last eight games, or whatever it is, nothing will. Now, we need to keep carrying it forward.”
New Jersey surrendered only four goals in beating the Penguins and Lightning, two of the NHL’s top-scoring clubs. A committed effort from “a group of self-starters”, as Devils coach John Hynes called his players, combined with solid play from goaltender Keith Kinkaid paved the way for the two victories, as well as the recent run in which New Jersey has five victories in seven games.
Kinkaid, who started the season as the backup to Cory Schneider, has helped keep the Devils’ playoff hopes alive while Schneider missed extensive time due to injury and then struggled when healthy. Kinkaid has a career-high 21 wins this season, while Schneider is without a victory since Dec. 27, losing his last 11 decisions.
“Keith has been a difference maker http://www.texansauthorizedshops.com/authentic-keke-coutee-jersey ,” Hynes said of Kinkaid, who will start for the seventh time in the last eight games on Tuesday. “He’s really come in and played well. He’s been a really important factor in us remaining competitive in the playoff race.”
Kinkaid and his teammates must sustain their recent high level of play against the Hurricanes (34-31-11), who are barely breathing in the playoff race, seven points behind the Devils with only six games to play. However, the Hurricanes carry some momentum of their own into Tuesday’s clash in Newark, winning three straight games and four of their last five.
Carolina finished off a home-and-home sweep of the Ottawa Senators Monday night with a 4-1 home-ice victory which followed Saturday’s 5-2 win north of the border. The Hurricanes drew inspiration from a pair of rookies recently-recalled from the minor leagues in their most recent victory.
Warren Foegele made his NHL debut on Monday and notched his first career goal and assist, while recording five hits. Valentin Zykov netted his third goal — and fifth point — in his fourth game for Carolina in the win, as well.
“I thought I’d do a tight turn and just shoot it on net. … It was fortunate enough to go in,” Foegele said of his goal. “I heard the crowd make the noise, and I looked in the back of the net. A pretty surreal moment for myself. Something I’ll remember forever.”
Like Foegele, Zykov scored a goal in his NHL debut on March 9, 2017 http://www.chargersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-derwin-james-jersey , one of two games he played last year. This season, he was held scoreless after his recall on March 20, but followed up with a two-goal game, a two-assist game and another goal on Monday.
“It’s exciting. You’re happy for them. They’ve worked hard all their life, and all of a sudden they realize the dream,” Carolina coach Bill Peters told reporters. “The dream is to make the National Hockey League, and then they score. They gave us good energy (Monday) night.”
Tuesday marks the fourth and final meeting between these Metropolitan Division rivals this season. The Devils won the first two games, 5-2 on Feb. 15 and 3-2 in overtime three days later. Carolina rebounded in the last get together for a 3-1 victory of its own.
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