3 players the 49ers gave up on way too early

The 49ers have usually made sound roster decisions, but parting ways with these players turned out to be a bad idea.

For the most part, the San Francisco 49ers' tandem of general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan has put together Super Bowl-caliber rosters while keeping the team competitive over the last four years, three of which have resulted in deep trips into the playoffs.

To do that, smart roster decisions must be made. And while the Niners have had their share of misses, such as grabbing defenders Solomon Thomas and Reuben Foster in Round 1 of the 2017 NFL Draft, Shanahan and Lynch have mostly been successful with their roster-building processes.

However, there are some instances when San Francisco gave up on players far too early.

For whatever the reasons, the 49ers probably wish they had retained these three players instead of having shown them the door.

No. 3: Running back Jerick McKinnon

The Niners spent big bucks luring in former Minnesota Vikings running back Jerick McKinnon as a free agent back in 2018, and the dual-threat rusher was supposed to be a massive X-factor in Shanahan's offense.

Except for the ACL tears.

McKinnon's first two years with San Francisco were erased by injuries, and even though he ended up being something of a touchdown-scoring machine over the early part of 2020 with six, it was clear he was no longer factoring into the 49ers' long-term plans and would not return.

Instead, McKinnon joined the Kansas City Chiefs, won a Super Bowl there and finished 2022 with 803 all-purpose yards and 10 touchdowns at the age of 30 years old.

That's the kind of production for which the Niners had hoped, and they had dealt with a turnstile of tailbacks from the point of McKinnon's departure until the 2022 blockbuster trade for Christian McCaffrey.