A pair of long-tenured San Francisco 49ers are none too pleased with the decrease in snaps that they saw on Sunday.
After the team’s overtime loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 5, Niners running back Carlos Hyde, who got out-touched by backup Matt Brieda ten to eight in the backfield and five to one in pass targets, expressed unhappiness.
“That wasn’t injury-related,” said Hyde, per Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk. “That was just the coach’s call … I don’t like it, but my boy, Matt, he’s a good back. So he did a good job going in there and making plays and stuff.”
Veteran linebacker NaVorro Bowman, who also saw some similar unwanted time on the sidelines Sunday, echoed Hyde’s sentiment.
“We had a conversation and, uh, I don’t know — they’re doing what they want to do and, I don’t know. I don’t like it,” said the former Pro Bowler. “No one likes coming out of the game, but I’m a team player.”
The Niners are still looking for their first win of the season, so they may have just been trying to shuffle the deck in an attempt to find something that would work for them. But both Hyde and Bowman have an argument for being the team’s top playmaker on their respective sides of the ball, so it’s probably not a viable long-term strategy for the Niners in this sad trombone of a season.
