Former NY Giants running back signs with San Francisco 49ers

Former NY Giants running back Wayne Gallman signed with the San Francisco 49ers Wednesday, one day after scheduling a free agent visit with the NFC West contender.

News of Gallman’s signing was first reported by ESPN’s Field Yates.

Gallman, 26, proved worthy of being an every-down running back last season, particularly after stepping into the NY Giants’ feature-back role once Saquon Barkley suffered a season-ending torn ACL Week 2 against the Chicago Bears.

Last season, Gallman averaged 4.6 yards per carry, while rushing for 682 yards and six touchdowns.

A former fourth-round pick of the NY Giants back in 2017, Gallman has rushed for 1,444 yards and nine touchdowns through the first 53 games of his career.

Gallman lands in a situation where he’ll inherit the bulk of the 49ers’ carries, in an offense that could add a rookie quarterback at the top of the board with the No. 3 overall pick in the NFL Draft next week.

Meanwhile, the NY Giants acted aggressively to upgrade from Gallman, signing Devontae Booker on the first day of NFL free agency back in March, a move that general manager Dave Gettleman says was made because the organization believes Booker can be a starting caliber player.

"“Well,” Gettleman said Tuesday. One of the reasons we prioritized Devontae is you can never have too many good players at any position, I don’t care what anybody says. One of the things that made Devontae so attractive was the fact that we felt he was a legitimate three-down running back. It’s always a group decision here, everything’s in the best interest of the Giants, so obviously he can be a good part of our solution at running back.”"