49ers' Jerick McKinnon, Kendrick Bourne using negative press as motivation

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“Get real.”

That’s how Sports Illustrated’s Grant Cohn ended his column titled “The 49ers can’t count on Jerick McKinnon.” The running back signed a $30 million contract with San Francisco in 2018, but has yet to play a regular-season game in a Niners uniform after tearing his ACL in Sept. 2018.

Let’s just say McKinnon is using Cohn’s criticism as fuel in his rehabilitation process.

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Teammate Kendrick Bourne is all about McKinnon’s appreciation for the haters.

McKinnon recently was seen looking rather spry in some workout videos, but the road back to the field already has been long for the tailback. 49ers general manager John Lynch remains cautiously optimistic that McKinnon can be a healthy contributor for coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense.

He also restructured his contract with the 49ers this offseason, which now is paying him less than $1 million base salary for 2020. The move saves San Francisco almost $6 million off the salary cap in 2020.

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The running back’s versatility initially attracted him to Lynch and Shanahan, as McKinnon amassed 570 rushing yards and 421 receiving yards in 2017 with the Minnesota Vikings.

It’s unfortunate that McKinnon missed the last two NFL seasons due to injury, but the organization isn’t going to give up on a player who has worked tirelessly to return to the field.

Cohn points to quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo suffering a similar injury a month after McKinnon and returning in fine shape the following season. That makes sense, because quarterbacks and running backs have very similar on-field responsibilities and movements right?

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Wrong.

You can’t compare injuries across different people. Yeah, did Adrian Peterson take down his rehab from an ACL tear like a Greek God and return like-new less than a year later? Sure, but plenty of careers also end from knee injuries like the one McKinnon suffered.

Cohn achieved his mission however, as he’s provided motivation for McKinnon and Bourne and riled up the Niners fan base on social media. 

But before we “get real” about McKinnon’s future with the 49ers, let’s see what he can do in training camp, whenever that can get underway in-person down in Santa Clara.

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