Running Back

Khalil Herbert

No. 31 · 6th season

Khalil Herbert finds a landing spot in San Francisco

At some point between the end of a season and the start of a new one, every free agent running back faces the same quiet question: does someone still want you? For Khalil Herbert, the answer came in early August — a one-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers.

Herbert built his name in Chicago as a burst runner who could flip a game's momentum on a single carry. He was the kind of back who made people sit up when he touched the ball, even when the touches were scarce. After his time with the Chicago Bears ended, he spent a stretch without a team — the in-between period that tests what a player is made of.

Now he's in San Francisco's backfield, one of the more competitive rooms in the league, joining a team that has leaned hard on the run. To clear space for him, the 49ers released cornerback Eli Apple and parted ways with a defensive lineman. Roster spots cost something; this one cost two.

For Herbert, this is the kind of signing that can define a career year or quietly disappear. A one-year deal in a loaded backfield is a job, not a guarantee. What he does with it is the whole story.

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