Carlos Hyde should be considered by Rams as potential backup running back

With the official start of free agency right around the corner, the Los Angeles Rams should consider giving Carlos Hyde a look.

Thanks to last year’s surprise impact, the Los Angeles Rams have already hinted they would love to bring C.J. Anderson back for another, although since the veteran running back is expected to draw interest from numerous teams, nothing is guaranteed at the moment.

Since the Rams would be wise to consider all options if they were looking to add another running back in free agency as insurance to Todd Gurley, the team may want to consider giving Carlos Hyde a look now that he’s become available all of a sudden.

To save some money, the Jacksonville Jaguars decided to release the former Ohio State star this week after originally acquiring Hyde from the Cleveland Browns in the middle of last season.

While there have been numerous occasions throughout Hyde’s career in which he looks like a workhorse, consistency has been a major issue as well, and the fact that he’s yet to break the 1,000-yard rushing mark (12 yards short in 2016) will back that statement up.

At this point in his career, Hyde seems like he would be better off filling in as a No. 2 running back when needed, and since the Rams will be taking a different approach with Gurley in 2018 due to his knee becoming an issue, this move seems worthy of consideration.

Of course, as mentioned before, the deciding factor over whether Los Angeles would even consider this possibility will come down to what happens with Anderson since if he returns, there would be no reason to bring Hyde on board.

Up until this past season, Gurley was always considered to be the kind of player that would remain on the field as much as possible, but his lack of production in the NFC Championship and Super Bowl shows the Rams will be taking a different approach to 2019.

Los Angeles knows the last thing they can afford is to overwork their beloved running back to the point where things become worse for Gurley’s knee, which is why exploring all potential options in free agency or the draft simply won’t hurt.

Even if Hyde is already gaining a ton of interest from other contenders in need of help at the running back position, if there’s one thing about the Rams dating back to last offseason, it would be the team is never truly out of the mix for any player.

In other words, if Los Angeles all of a sudden happens to express interest in Hyde now that he’s become available for the 2019 season, would it really come as that much of a surprise to anyone at this point in March?