![]() “Hopefully, I helped my (chances) of staying on the team.” “I’m thankful that with this opportunity I was able to go out there and do what I can do,” Morris said. That gain was negated by a holding penalty, so Morris simply blasted for 11 yards on the next play, gliding behind a great block from tight end Garrett Celek on the left edge. On the 49ers’ first play from scrimmage, Morris broke through the left side of the line for a 17-yard run. Morris thrived in that scheme, rushing for 1,613 yards in 2012 and 1,275 yards in 2013. Morris knows Shanahan’s zone-heavy philosophy from their two years together in Washington, when Shanahan was the offensive coordinator. “He’s always asking questions on how I see something versus how sees it. Just little things,” Garoppolo said after Saturday’s game. He’s been showing it in practice, too, sidling up to Jimmy Garoppolo to find out what the quarterback wants in a running mate. Morris, though, showed he deserves a spot at the 53-man table. 2 back, too, although Matt Breida is ruled out for the rest of the preseason with a separated shoulder. The 49ers already have a featured back - at a featured price - having signed Jerick McKinnon to a four-year deal worth $30 million over four seasons. A former star in Washington, Morris spent the past two seasons as a backup with the Dallas Cowboys. On a team full of plucky youngsters trying to make the squad, the biggest revelation was player who already has 5,503 yards of tread on his tires. That’s how it went Saturday in the 49ers’ third preseason game. “I still have a lot of juice in these legs,” Morris told reporters when it was over. Playing just over a half, the three-time 1,000-yard rusher racked up 84 yards. Morris, who turns 30 in December, ran with vision, power and the short-yardage feel of a six-year veteran. He ran as if he’d been here all along, starting and serving as the most reliable offensive threat in a 23-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. On Saturday, Morris needed only two quarters of play to make an ironclad case for a roster spot. “I do believe he has a chance to make the team here. “I wouldn’t invite him unless I believed he had the chance to make the team,” Shanahan said in addressing the deal on Aug. When the 49ers inked running back Alfred Morris two weeks ago, they were banking on it being for the long haul. This was no courtesy call, no stopgap signing for roster depth.
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