49ers Backfield in Limbo Following RB Marcus Lattimore's Retirement

The San Francisco 49ers' fourth-round selection of the 2013 NFL draft, Marcus Lattimore, announced that he will retire from the NFL after attempting to make a comeback from the gruesome knee injury he suffered at the University of South Carolina.

News of Lattimore's decision was announced by the 49ers on Wednesday, which followed reports that the young back was contemplating the end of his professional career.

Lattimore released the following statement via his Twitter account:

Excerpted therein was the primary issue why this feel-good story was never able to come to fruition:

"

After prayer and careful consideration, I have decided it’s time to end my professional football career. I have given my heart and soul to the game that I love, and it’s time for me to move on to the next chapter of my life and help others. I have given every ounce of my energy toward making a full recovery from my knee injury, and I have made a lot of progress. Unfortunately, getting my knee fully back to the level the NFL demands has proven to be insurmountable.

"

Lattimore's decision is one that only the toughest of professional athletes can comprehend. Having watched the horrendous injury he suffered in South Carolina, this author cannot even begin to understand all the obstacles that stood in the 23-year-old's path.

In the end, these obstacles proved to be too much.

Selected in Round 4—131st overall—by the 49ers in 2013, Lattimore was essentially a low-risk, high-reward option for a San Francisco backfield that was looking to reinforce a cast of backs that, at the time, consisted of Frank Gore, Kendall Hunter and LaMichael James.

It was even a thought that Lattimore would be the heir apparent to Gore, now 31 years old, when the veteran decided to end his storied career.

Lattimore once even stated via USA Today (h/t Josh Alper of NBC Sports) that it was his goal to take Gore's job when the time game.

Unfortunately, he never got the chance.

So what exactly are the implications for San Francisco? As stated before, Lattimore was a hopeful flier for the 49ers who, that year, had a plethora of picks from which to utilize. Lattimore's collegiate accolades were enough to suggest first-round talent, yet his injuries forced his draft stock to plummet. 

	Games	Attempts	Yards	Avg. YPC	TD
2010	13	249	1,197	4.8	17
2011	7	163	818	5.0	10
2012	9	143	662	4.6	11
Total	29	555	2,677	4.8	38

The hopes were for Lattimore to redshirt his rookie season on the non-football injury list, learning the aspects of the game behind Gore. This would translate into the young back eventually taking over the primary job at some point in the future.

This never came to fruition as Lattimore opened his second pro season on the NFI list again.

One has to wonder also if San Francisco's selection of Carlos Hyde in Round 2 of the 2014 draft suggested a relative lack of faith regarding Lattimore's recovery process.

At the start of training camp, the 49ers' backfield was one of the more crowded positions on the 90-man roster. Highlighting the cast were players like Gore, Hunter, Hyde, James and Lattimore—all looking for bona fide roles on offense.

James is now gone, having been released by the 49ers back in September. Hunter is on injured reserve for the remainder of the season with a knee injury suffered during camp.

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

That has left just Gore and Hyde to shoulder the burden of San Francisco's ground game in 2014.

Teams typically carry three running backs on their respective rosters. The 49ers have gotten away with two thus far, and we should expect them to make an additional transaction if need be.

But as stated, Gore is likely entering his twilight—a conceivable notion given his age and because the veteran is playing in the final season of his three-year, $19.21 million dollar contract.

While we can't entirely speculate whether Gore returns on a team-friendly deal in 2015, we can deduce that San Francisco's backfield has far more questions to answer moving forward.

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press/Associated Press/Associated Press

One of the questions was answered on November 3, when the team announced a one-year extension given to Hunter. This will keep the preeminent No. 2 back on the 49ers roster for at least another season.

But if Gore departs—either through free agency or retirement—San Francisco's backfield will be comprised of only Hunter and Hyde.

Hyde is the most interesting of the two backs, obviously. A highly touted prospect out of Ohio State, Hyde shares many of the same traits possessed and perfected by Gore. The rookie now stands as the favorite to eventually take over as the 49ers' No. 1 guy carrying the ball.

Yet Hyde has yet to showcase the potential that warranted such a high pick. So far on the season, the 23-year-old has amassed just 50 carries for 158 yards and two touchdowns. He is averaging just 3.6 yards per carry.

We can chalk up the relative lack of stats to a few things. San Francisco is utilizing more of a pass-first approach compared to recent seasons, and Gore is still getting the bulk of carries on the ground.

But none of this answers what the 49ers will have to do in 2015.

USA TODAY Sports

A speculative choice would be to give Hyde the reins next year. Hunter will likely step back into his No. 2 role while San Francisco will look to bolster its running back crop with a cheap free agent and/or a mid- or late-round draft pick in 2015.

Depending also on the myriad of questions surrounding the future of head coach Jim Harbaugh and his coaching staff in San Francisco, one might also wonder about the eventual future offensive scheme and whether the 49ers will employ a run-first, run-often offense.

What is known is this: Lattimore's retirement prompts even more questions within the 49ers' backfield. San Francisco hopes to have some of the answers in place. But until some further factors are decided, one can only speculate what the future holds.

All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com and Sports-Reference.com unless otherwise indicated.

Peter Panacy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report, covering the San Francisco 49ers. Be sure to check out his entire archive for 49ers news, insight and analysis.

Follow him @PeterPanacy on Twitter.