The 49ers Sign Khalil Herbert as Injuries Pile Up at Running Back

Here we go again.

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The 49ers are only five days into training camp, and already they're desperate for healthy running backs.

That's why they just signed veteran Khalil Herbert. Not because he's good -- he's a journeyman at this point in his career. The main reason they signed him is that he's healthy while the rest of the 49ers' backup running backs are not.

Jordan James suffered broken ribs when Fred Warner punched him during practice in an attempt to dislodge the football, and is out indefinitely. Isaac Guerendo is recovering from a torn pectoral muscle and doesn't seem particularly close to returning. And rookie Kaelon Black left Saturday's practice early with an undisclosed injury. Which means the only healthy backups behind Christian McCaffrey are Patrick Taylor Jr., Sincere McCormick and now Khalil Herbert.

Herbert, 27, appeared in seven games with the Jets last season, rushed 16 times, and averaged just 3.3 yards per carry. In 2024, he played for two teams -- the Bears and the Bengals -- appeared in 14 games, and averaged 3.6 yards per carry.

So, he's a camp body. If he makes the 53-man roster, that would simply mean someone better and younger got injured.

For the 14th year in a row, injuries appear to be a major problem for the 49ers, and the preseason hasn't even started yet. Ricky Pearsall already is out for the season with a PCL that mysteriously never healed on its own. Christian Kirk injured his calf on Day 1 of camp. And the 49ers' first four draft picks -- De'Zhaun Stribling, Romello Height, Kaelon Black and Gracen Halton -- all are currently injured, although none of the injuries seem serious.

At some point, the 49ers have to acknowledge that the massive electrical substation that is directly next to their practice field is an issue. It's been there since 1987, but it grew tremendously in 2013 and 2014 to accommodate Levi's Stadium, and that's when the 49ers' injury issues started.

Recently, former 49ers defensive coordinator and current Tennessee Titans head coach Robert Saleh was on Pardon My Take, and was asked about the substation next to Levi's Stadium.

"There's got to be something to that," Saleh said. "You can't tell me it's nothing. Maybe it's death by a million paper cuts. I don't know. There's a reason why in real estate, if you live next to a power line, you're probably not getting a premium for your house."

It's time for the 49ers to move training camp away from the substation. That way, they'd have an actual chance to be healthy when the season starts. As of now, you have to assume all of their players are injured in some way or another all the time.

Until they seriously address the electrical substation, they'll have no choice but to sign the Khalil Herberts of the world while their most important players continue to go down.