Garrison Hearst's departure for the San Francisco 49ers Friday shows what had been expected: The Bengals will rely on Ki-Jana Carter to fill the team's running needs this season.
Hearst, an unrestricted free agent who led Cincinnati with 847 yards last year, signed a two-year deal with San Francisco after spurning offers from the Bengals.
Without Hearst, the Bengals must have an effective Carter to maintain a formidable offense.
Asked if Carter must ''step up'' to meet the challenge, coach Bruce Coslet said, ''He will. He was getting a lot better at the end of the year and running with more authority.''
Statistics support Coslet's assertion. Carter, the No.Ç1 overall draft choice in 1995 who missed that season with torn ligaments in his left knee, lost his starting job to Hearst after four games in 1996 and finished with 264 yards on 91 carries, a 2.9 average.
But after an embarrassing afternoon against Atlanta on Nov.Ç24 when he neither carried nor caught the ball, Carter gained 83 yards on 17 carries (4.9 average) in his last four games. He also rushed for a team-high eight touchdowns, mostly in goal-line situations.
''I think we were a little unrealistic with him coming back from his injury, expecting too many things,'' Coslet said. ''He didn't really have his legs under him. At the end he started to catch on.''
The Bengals were resigned to losing Hearst, whom they claimed off waivers from Arizona last Aug. ;21, after failing to negotiate a contract extension with him during the season.
The Bengals easily could have signed Hearst for the money he agreed upon Friday with San Francisco. But money wasn't Hearst's priority. Winning was.
''If we had given Cincinnati the opportunity to match, I have no doubt they would have,'' said Hearst's agent, Pat Dye Jr. ''But this is the better situation for Garrison.''
Said Hearst at a news conference at 49ers headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif.: ''The bottom line was, I played for two teams (Arizona and Cincinnati) that haven't done well. I want a chance to be in some playoff games.''
Hearst will receive a $600,000 signing bonus and a low $200,000 base salary this year, since the 49ers have little salary-cap room. He can earn an additional $500,000 in performance bonuses.
Next year he's eligible for a $1 million base salary and a $1 million roster bonus. But if he excels this year, the 49ers probably will try to negotiate a multiyear extension.
Hearst received more lucrative offers from among the five other teams expressing interest in him.
''I know that for a fact,'' said 49ers director of football operations Dwight Clark, who said San Francisco management had all but given up on obtaining Hearst. ''For him to do that (take less money) was impressive.''
As he did in Cincinnati, Hearst will have to share time in the backfield. This time, he'll complement Terry Kirby, San Francisco's No. 1 running back whose forte is catching passes out of the backfield. Hearst is expected to assume the bulk of the running duties behind a revamped offensive line.
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