For the second time this week, the 49ers have bolstered the depth in their backfield.
Free agent running back Tim Hightower has agreed to terms with the 49ers, G.M. John Lynch announced on Twitter. Hightower joins running back DuJuan Harris, who re-signed with the 49ers this week, as backups to starter Carlos Hyde.
Hightower’s once-promising NFL career looked like it had been totally derailed as a result of a torn ACL he suffered during the 2011 season. That knee injury, as well as a post-surgery infection, led him to spend the next three years out of the NFL.
But in 2015 Hightower finally got back into the league with the Saints, and in 2016 he bounced back in a big way, with 133 carries for 548 yards, plus 22 catches for 200 yards. Both New Orleans and Washington showed interest in signing him this year, but he has decided to head to San Francisco.