49ers castoff McKinnon returns to Super Bowl
Jerick McKinnon recalls helplessly walking off the 49ers’ losing sideline in the Super Bowl three years ago, as the Kansas City Chiefs’ redand-yellow confetti fell from Miami’s night sky.
It capped his second season with the 49ers, his second straight on the sideline because of knee surgeries.
“I remember saying to myself, ‘I’m going to find a way back somehow, and I’m going to contribute,’” McKinnon said Monday night, back on that marquee stage with the Kansas City Chiefs, ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl against the Philadelphia Eagles in Phoenix.
“I didn’t know how it was going to shape out, but somehow I ended up on the opposing team,” McKinnon added. “And now I’m here, so it’s great.”
Before Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey excelled as dual threats in the 49ers’ rushing and receiving games, the 49ers paid McKinnon a lot of money to be great in that role. That $17 million investment became a sunk cost. A week before he could debut in their 2018 season opener, he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during a bonus practice.
McKinnon practiced a few days at the 2019 training camp, only to require a follow-up procedure on his knee. That sent him to injured reserve for a second straight season, the one that ended with a Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs.
In the days prior to that Super Bowl, McKinnon roamed around the “Opening Night” media session and playfully interviewed teammates for the 49ers’ video team. This past Monday night, McKinnon was the one being interviewed, including about his comeback.
“I ain’t going to lie to you, it’s tough going with backto-back knee surgeries, not knowing what was next for me,” McKinnon said, in audio posted by the NFL.
“Through it all, I just kept my head down, kept working, kept faith in God, and leaned on the people around me. It all led back to this.”
McKinnon originally joined the 49ers as a 2018 free agent at an extravagant cost (four years, $30 million). He restructured to a one-year, $1 million deal for his 2020 comeback on what would be an injury-plagued 49ers team.
His comeback took root that year as he scored in the 49ers’ first four games. Shadowing Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr., McKinnon’s dual-threat capability emerged: 319 rushing yards and five touchdowns, 253 receiving yards and one touchdown.
That modest 2020 production didn’t yield him another big-time deal, and the Chiefs threw him a lifeline via a one-year, $1 million flier.
“It came a point in my career I had nobody to lean on and it was real dark, thinking this could really be how it ends,” McKinnon recalled. “But I got a call (from the Chiefs), I’m blessed for the opportunity, I have great teammates, great coaches, and I’m here in Year 2.”
McKinnon’s stuck with the Chiefs on a pair of oneyear, $1 million deals. Nine of his 56 catches went for touchdowns (and 512 yards) this regular season. In the Chiefs’ two playoff wins, he ran for just 26 yards on 15 carries, and his only two receptions (17 yards) came in the AFC Championship win.
The Chiefs were 4-2 when they came into Levi’s Stadium and beat the 49ers 44-23 on Oct. 23, a win in which McKinnon delivered a 34-yard catch-and-run on a key touchdown drive. That launched the Chiefs’ 12-1 spree into the Super Bowl, their third in four years.
McKinnon was hoping to see the 49ers again, but they lost in the NFC Championship Game 31-7 to the Eagles.
“I did, because I played there and I know those guys so well,” McKinnon said, “but however it shaped out, it’s a blessing to be in this moment right here.”