When Matt Breida signed his one-year contract tender to rejoin the 49ers in 2020, he cited some "unfinished business" as a motivating factor for the season ahead.
He might have a chance to rectify that unfinished business, but it won't come with San Francisco.
The 49ers traded Breida to the Miami Dolphins on Saturday for a fifth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. San Francisco then used that pick to select West Virginia offensive lineman Colton McKivitz.
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Though Breida surely knows the NFL is a business, it appears the trade caught him at least somewhat by surprise. One week prior to the draft, he insisted he expected to remain with the 49ers.
"I think they want a lot of the guys back, so they're going to do whatever they can to keep everyone back," Breida said on KNBR's "Murph & Mac Show." "I'm just going to sit here, wait, and see what happens. But I've got a good feeling we're all going to be back."
[49ERS INSIDER PODCAST: Listen to the latest episode]
Breida accounted for 2,463 yards from scrimmage and 10 total touchdowns over three seasons, and was a crucial part of the 49ers' running attack en route to a Super Bowl appearance last season, but there was no guarantee he'd have the same role in 2020. Aside from Breida, the 49ers already had quite a stable of running backs in Tevin Coleman, Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson and Jerick McKinnon.
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Plus, by trading Breida, the 49ers cleared $3.3 million in salary-cap space.