Former San Francisco 49ers running back Tevin Coleman is now reunited with newly-minted New York Jets coaches Robert Saleh and Mike LaFleur.
Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the New York Jets are set to sign former Robert Saleh/Mike LaFleur disciple Tevin Coleman.
The #Jets are finalizing a deal with veteran RB Tevin Coleman, source said, as the former #49ers RB lands back with Robert Saleh and will have a similar system on offense.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 24, 2021
Coleman, a 27-year-old running back, spent the past two seasons in San Francisco after working with the Atlanta Falcons for his first four campaigns. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the deal is worth up to $2 million.
Though he was limited to 53 yards over eight games last season, Coleman put up a career-best 800 yards on the ground in his final season in Atlanta.
The Indiana alum also gained a reputation as an aerial threat, having earned 1,224 yards on 117 receptions, 12 of which went for scores.
Coleman was also part of the 49ers’ trek to Super Bowl 54, playing a major in the divisional triumph over Minnesota with 105 yards and two scores.
Much like fellow newcomer Vinny Curry, Coleman has Super Bowl experience, having partaken in runner-up trips with the Falcons and 49ers in the game’s 51st and 54th editions. During a 2019 tilt against Carolina, Coleman entered hallowed San Francisco ground when he scored four total touchdowns in a single game, the third player in team history to do and first since Jerry Rice.
“He can run and he’s explosive, no doubt,” LaFleur, then the 49ers’ passing game coordinator, said about Coleman on the team’s official site after his signing in June 2019. The thing that really sticks out with Tevin is how fearless and physical this guy is. He is a man out there. When you tell him to put his foot in the ground and go north and south, he’s going to do it times 10. It’s every single week. It’s every single down. You’re always getting the same guy.”
“When we need him to get us a yard, he’s going to get us a yard every single time.”
Coleman brings experience and proven talent to a Jets rushing game struggling to pick up the pieces after Le’Veon Bell’s release. Second-year rusher La’mical Perine is their top returning back along with the re-signed Josh Adams. Mid-season pick up Ty Johnson, responsible for the Jets’ first 100-yard game in over two calendar years, is likewise under contract.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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