Carlos Hyde

Carlos Dawon Hyde (born September 20, 1990) is a former American football running back. He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes and was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round of the 2014 NFL draft. Hyde was also a member of the Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs, Houston Texans, and Seattle Seahawks.

Early life
Hyde grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. He attended Princeton High School in Sharonville, Ohio, for his freshman year. Hyde then moved to Naples, Florida, and attended Naples High School for the remainder of high school. He rushed for 1,653 yards and 16 touchdowns for the football team as a senior, and was named Player of the Year after his senior season by both the Naples Daily News and the Ft. Myers News-Press. Hyde played on the 2007 Naples state championship winning team and 2008 regional finalist. He also played basketball, ran track, and mentored elementary school children.

Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Hyde was rated as the second best fullback in the nation. He committed to Ohio State University over scholarship offers from the University of Florida, the University of Miami, and Florida State University.

College career
Hyde enrolled at Ohio State in January 2010. He played primarily as a backup running back in his first two seasons before breaking out in his junior season with 970 yards and 16 rushing touchdowns in less than 10 games after missing two because of an ankle issue. Hyde was named second-team All-Big Ten Conference that year.

Going into his senior season with high expectations, Hyde was suspended for the first three games of the season after being implicated in an incident at a local bar, though he was not criminally charged in the matter. Hyde returned from his suspension to finish the season strong with 1,282 yards and 14 touchdowns over his last eight games. On October 5, Hyde ran for his first 100-yard and multi-touchdown game of the season when he ran for 168 yards and three touchdowns when the Buckeyes played Northwestern. Hyde ran for a season-high of 246 yards and four touchdowns against Illinois on November 16. He followed that up with 226 rushing yards and a touchdown in the annual rivalry game against Michigan. Hyde was a first-team All-Big Ten selection, and a third-team All-American by the Associated Press.

2014 season
Hyde was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round (57th overall) of the 2014 NFL draft. He was the third running back to be selected in the 2014 NFL draft after Bishop Sankey, who was selected by the Tennessee Titans, and Jeremy Hill, who was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals.

There were large expectations for Hyde coming into an already crowded backfield. With a large amount of depth at the position, Hyde had to compete against Kendall Hunter, LaMichael James, Marcus Lattimore, and 49ers all-time leading rusher, Frank Gore. A series of injuries would move Hyde up the depth chart to the backup running back behind Gore. Last season's backup running back Kendall Hunter tore his ACL during training camp, Marcus Lattimore retired due to a previously suffered ACL and MCL tear in college, and James sprained his elbow. James was later released by the team.

During the season-opening 28–17 road victory over the Dallas Cowboys, Hyde had seven carries for 50 yards and a touchdown. Over the next two weeks, the team would not feature Hyde very much, giving him a total of just seven carries. During a Week 10 27–24 overtime road victory over the New Orleans Saints during a close game, the team turned to Frank Gore, leaving Hyde on the bench for most of the game. However, Hyde showed a lot of promise, rushing for 36 yards on four carries and a touchdown. During a Week 15 17–7 the Seattle Seahawks, Hyde was playing well until he was benched in the fourth quarter after suffering a sprained ankle and back injury.

Hyde finished his rookie season with 83 carries for 333 yards and four touchdowns to go along with 12 receptions for 68 yards in 14 games and no starts.

2015 season
After the 49ers chose not to re-sign Frank Gore, Hyde entered the season as the front runner to become the feature back, but he was in competition for the starting job against Mike Davis, Reggie Bush, and former rugby league star Jarryd Hayne. Hyde was named starter for the 2015 season.

During the season opening 20–3 victory over the Minnesota Vikings, Hyde had the best game of his career, rushing for a career-high 168 yards on 26 carries and two touchdowns, with one of them coming on an amazing spin move. Over the next few weeks, the team suffered two blowout road losses against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals and a home loss to the Green Bay Packers as a result to the team focused on the passing game to score points, abandoning the running game. In Week 5 against the New York Giants the team was more balanced, Hyde rushed 21 times for 93 yards and a touchdown. Despite his successful game, the 49ers lost on the road 30–27 after Eli Manning threw a touchdown to Larry Donnell with 21 seconds left. More bad news came after the loss Hyde fractured his foot during the game. Hyde played the next two games while dealing with the injury but was shut down in Week 8 and did not return for the rest of the season. He needed surgery to repair the stress fracture and was placed on injured reserve on December 12.

Hyde finished his second professional season with 115 carries for 470 yards and three touchdowns to go along with 11 receptions for 53 yards in seven games and starts.

2016 season
Hyde entered the 2016 season as one of the few bright spots on offense. He was expected to have a large volume of work as the 49ers' starting running back since the team's new head coach Chip Kelly's offense relies on a good rushing attack.

During the season-opening 28–0 shutout victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football, Hyde had a great game as he rushed for 88 yards and two touchdowns. In the next game, the 49ers faced the defending NFC Champion Carolina Panthers and their Top 10 defense. Hyde had a slow start to the game when he fumbled the ball and the defense returned it for a touchdown. He would then split playing time with Shaun Draughn due to his fumble. The offense could not run the ball consistently in the first half. After halftime, the Panthers offense took off and the 49ers stopped running the ball in an attempt to make a comeback. Hyde did not get many carries after that and finished the 46–27 road loss with 14 carries for 34 yards. The following week against the divisional rival Seahawks, Hyde had a good game although the offense had a slow start to the game including Hyde, who only rushed for 23 yards in the first half. In the second half, the passing attack was ineffective against the Seattle Seahawks "Legion of Boom", but Hyde and the rushing attack were more effective as the game got later, Hyde rushed for two eight-yard touchdowns in the fourth quarter. He finished the 37–18 road loss with 21 carries for 103 yards and two touchdowns.

Hyde kept his momentum rushing for 74 yards and a touchdown and 78 yards and a touchdown in Weeks 4 and 5 against the Cowboys and Cardinals, respectively. During a Week 6 45–16 road loss to the Buffalo Bills, Hyde had 14 carries for 52 yards before suffering a sprained right shoulder and was sidelined the next two games. During a Week 11 30–17 loss to the New England Patriots, the 49ers played well keeping the game close until the fourth quarter when the Patriots outscored the 49ers 17 to 7, with Hyde finishing with 19 carries for 86 yards. Two weeks later against the Chicago Bears, due to bad weather, both teams passing attack struggled and would rely on the run game, Hyde finished the 26–6 road loss with 20 carries for 92 yards. The following week, Hyde rushed for 193 yards and a receiving touchdown in a 23–17 overtime loss to the New York Jets.

Hyde finished the 2016 season with 217 carries for 988 yards and six touchdowns to go along with 27 receptions for 163 yards and three touchdowns in 13 games and starts. He was also named an alternate for the Pro Bowl, but was placed on injured reserve on December 27, 2016, after suffering an MCL injury.

2017 season
During the offseason, the 49ers new head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch brought in a lot of competition at the running back position. Hyde welcomed the challenge, saying: "That just pushes me to take my game to the next level, I want to be the starter." He entered in the 2017 season having lost weight; Hyde arrived to training camp in great shape weighing 228 pounds. In an interview, he was quoted saying: "This is the lightest I've been since high school, I'm in the best shape of my life right now." Hyde's new body transformation led to results on the field as he showed off a quicker burst on rushing attempts than ever before.

Hyde averaged five yards per carry in the 23–3 season-opening loss to the Panthers, but after the first half, the team was playing from behind so to make a comeback the offense focused heavily on the pass abandoning the rushing attack. Hyde finished the game with nine carries for 45 yards. In the next game against the Seahawks, he carried the offense as he rushed for 102 yards on seven carries in the first half, where most of his yardage came on the longest run of his career breaking a 61-yard run. Hyde finished the 12–9 road loss with 15 carries for 124 yards, becoming the first running back to rush for 100 yards in back-to-back games on the road in Seattle since Pete Carroll became the head coach in 2010. Hyde's 124 rushing yards led all rushers for Week 2. In Weeks 3–8, Hyde had two games with two rushing touchdowns. During a Week 9 20–10 loss to the Cardinals, Hyde was involved in a fight with Frostee Rucker and Haason Reddick, with all three combatants being ejected for throwing punches in a fighting pile. On November 9, Hyde was fined $9,115 for his role in the brawl. In the last four games of the regular season, he had at least one rushing touchdown in three of the four games, with the regular-season finale against the Rams having Hyde record 88 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns as the 49ers won on the road 34–13.

Hyde finished the 2017 season with 240 carries for 940 yards and a career-high eight touchdowns while also setting career-highs in receptions with 59 and receiving yards with 350 in 16 games and starts. He was ranked 97th by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2018.

Cleveland Browns
On March 15, 2018, Hyde signed a three-year contract with the Cleveland Browns.

Hyde made his Browns' debut in the season opener against the Steelers. In the 21–21 tie, Hyde had 22 carries for 62 yards and a touchdown to help the Browns' snap their 17-game losing streak. On September 20, his 28th birthday, Hyde's girlfriend was due to give birth to his first child, and he went from the hospital to the Browns' game against the Jets. Hyde rushed for 97 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning score that gave the Browns a 21–17 victory, their first in 19 games. He then returned to the hospital, where his girlfriend gave birth to their son.

Jacksonville Jaguars
On October 19, 2018, the Browns traded Hyde to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a fifth round pick in the 2019 NFL draft. Hyde shared the backfield with Leonard Fournette and T. J. Yeldon for the remainder of the 2018 season. Overall, Hyde finished the 2018 season with 172 carries for 571 yards and five touchdowns to go along with 10 receptions for 33 yards.

On March 8, 2019, Hyde was released by the Jaguars.

Kansas City Chiefs
On March 9, 2019, Hyde signed a one-year, $2.8 million deal with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Houston Texans
On August 31, 2019, Hyde was traded to the Houston Texans in exchange for tackle Martinas Rankin.

Hyde made his Texans debut during the narrow season-opening 30–28 road loss to the Saints, recording 10 carries for 83 yards and a two-yard reception. During a Week 6 31–24 road victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, Hyde rushed 26 times for 116 yards and a touchdown. Three weeks later against the Jaguars at Wembley Stadium, Hyde rushed for 160 yards, including a 58-yard run that resulted in a fumble lost in the endzone for a touchback. Nevertheless, the Texans won 26–3. During a Week 15 24–21 road victory over the Tennessee Titans, Hyde had 26 carries for 104 yards and a touchdown.

Hyde finished the 2019 season with 245 carries for 1,070 yards and six touchdowns to go along with 10 receptions for 42 yards in 16 games and 14 starts. In the Wild Card Round, Hyde played in his first NFL playoff game against the Bills, rushing 16 times for 48 yards and catching a five-yard touchdown to help the Texans win 22–19 in overtime.

Seattle Seahawks
On May 28, 2020, Hyde signed with the Seahawks. Hyde made his Seahawks debut in the season-opening 38–25 road victory over the Atlanta Falcons, rushing for 23 yards and a touchdown.

Hyde finished the 2020 season with 81 carries for 356 yards and four touchdowns to go along with 16 receptions for 93 yards in 10 games and one start.

Jacksonville Jaguars (second stint)
On March 17, 2021, Hyde signed a two-year, $6 million contract with the Jaguars and reunited with his former college coach, Urban Meyer. Hyde entered the 2021 season as the backup running back to James Robinson. Hyde suffered a concussion in Week 14 and was placed on injured reserve on December 21.

Hyde finished the 2021 season with 72 carries for 253 yards and a touchdown to go along with a 12-yard reception in 12 games and two starts.

On March 11, 2022, Hyde was released by the Jaguars.