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Raheem Mostert

Injury Updates: Colts, McCaffrey, Broncos, 49ers

September 20th, 2020 at 7:47pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

It’s been a tough day for the NFL, with a slew of high profile players going down with serious injuries. We’ve brought you all the season-ending ones already, and now we’ve got some updates on some hopefully less long-term but still significant injuries. Colts receiver Parris Campbell had to be carted off with a knee injury, but fortunately Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets that he did not tear his ACL.

Campbell’s 2019 rookie season was plagued by injuries as he dealt with a sports hernia, a broken hand, and a broken foot, so this was especially tough to see. He was supposed to play a big role in this Colts offense, and showed a nice connection with new quarterback Philip Rivers in Week 1. The Ohio State product and former second-round pick will have an MRI on Monday, and it seems like an MCL injury could be likely.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • Panthers superstar Christian McCaffrey sprained his ankle and will have an MRI on Monday to determine the severity, Rapoport tweets. Fortunately, Rapsheet reports that the “initial hope” is it’s not too serious. Needless to say, it would be a massive loss for Carolina’s offense if he’s forced to miss any time.
  • We heard earlier today that Drew Lock would miss multiple games with an AC joint injury in his throwing shoulder. While he agrees with the prognosis of multiple weeks missed, multiple sources told Mike Klis of Denver 9 News that the injury is not in fact to the AC joint (Twitter link). The bad news is that Klis also reports there is “concern” within the organization about Courtland Sutton‘s knee, but that nothing more will be known until tomorrow morning. The Broncos have been besieged by injuries, and can’t seem to catch a break in that regard.
  • The Falcons blew a huge lead late for an absolutely gutting loss to the Cowboys, and the bad news doesn’t end there. The team fears starting right tackle Kaleb McGary has sprained his MCL, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The MRI Monday will confirm how long he’ll be out, but this sounds like a multi-week absence. McGary has started every game since the team drafted him in the first-round last year, and this is the last thing this 0-2 Atlanta team needed.
  • Nick Bosa is done for the year with a torn ACL, and two other 49ers players are dealing with knee injuries. Running back Raheem Mostert is believed to have a mild MCL sprain and defensive tackle Solomon Thomas is believed to have a “serious” knee injury, according to tweets from Schefter. It sounds like both are going to miss time, although Mostert’s shouldn’t be too long-term and Schefter notes that Thomas’ didn’t have the initial grim clarity of Bosa’s, which could be a good sign. San Francisco has been another team bit hard by the injury bug.

49ers, Raheem Mostert Agree To New Deal

July 27th, 2020 at 1:23pm CST by Zachary Links

The 49ers have smoothed things out with Raheem Mostert. The two sides have agreed to a restructuring to keep the running back in the fold this year, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. 

[RELATED: 49ers Sign CB Jamar Taylor]

Mostert demanded a trade earlier this summer when extension talks stalled. The running back wanted a deal to reflect his 2019 performance, by way of a contract that would match Tevin Coleman‘s. Coleman is set to enter the backend of his two-year, $8.5MM deal. The Niners, predictably, pushed back – Mostert still had two seasons left on his three-year, $8.7MM pact. Ultimately, they met somewhere in the middle. Mostert’s existing deal will continue, but he’ll get a little more in the way of current year comp to stay satisfied and productive.

“Happy we got things worked out and looking forward to him having another great season there,” said Mostert’s agent, Brett Tessler. “Thanks to the organization for taking care of him.”

The new deal will pay Mostert $2.575MM in base salary this year, with a $300K bonus, per Schefter. He’ll also be able to earn up to an additional $2.75MM through incentives and bonuses.

Mostert, 28, bounced around the league for a while before landing with the 49ers in 2016. The former UDFA is the team’s longest-tenured running back, but, up until 2018, he barely saw any work in the backfield. Mostert averaged 7.7 yards per carry (on 34 totes) in 2018. Then, he broke out in 2019, leading the 49ers with 772 rushing yards and pacing all running backs with 5.6 per carry. He then set a conference championship game record with four rushing touchdowns.

With Mostert firmly in the fold, the Niners are set to feature a solid stable of Mostert, Coleman, Jerick McKinnon, and Jeff Wilson.

49ers Meet With Raheem Mostert

July 20th, 2020 at 1:44pm CST by Zachary Links

A “high-ranking” 49ers official met with Raheem Mostert earlier today in an effort to clear the air, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Agent Brett Tessler expressed some optimism about things being worked out, so it’s possible that the two sides will be able to move forward together. 

[RELATED: 49ers’ Raheem Mostert Requests Trade]

Frustrated with the lack of progress in extension talks, Mostert requested a trade earlier this month. The Niners are understandably reluctant to give him a new deal – he still has two years to go on his three-year, $8.7MM contract.

Mostert, meanwhile, wants to strike while the iron is hot. Once a special teams player, he has emerged as a legitimate backfield threat. In 2018, he averaged 7.7 yards per carry on 34 totes. Last year, he proved that he can do it on a larger scale – he broke out with a team-leading 772 yards and led the NFC West with 5.6 yards per carry. Then came the NFC title game, where he set an all-time record with four rushing TDs.

Mostert, 28, has a limited window to secure big bucks. He won’t approach the numbers scored by Derrick Henry on his new Titans deal, but that contract could give his camp some juice as they argue against the usual knocks on RB contracts.

If the two sides can’t mend fences, the Niners would be left with Tevin Coleman, Jerick McKinnon, and Jeff Wilson as their top RBs.

49ers’ Raheem Mostert Requests Trade

July 8th, 2020 at 4:16pm CST by Sam Robinson

Raheem Mostert has requested a trade from the 49ers, with agent Brett Tessler indicating months of discussions about adjusting his contract from a special teams rate have not progressed (Twitter link).

The 49ers extended Mostert in March 2019; his three-year, $8.7MM deal runs through 2021. With Tevin Coleman going down with a sprained ankle in Week 1 last year, Mostert stepped into a key run-game role. And by season’s end, he was operating in tandem with Coleman as an essential part of San Francisco’s attack.

Mostert’s contract aspirations are based around bumping his pay to the level of Coleman, per Tessler (via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, on Twitter). The 49ers signed Coleman to a two-year, $8.5MM deal in March 2019. Should the 49ers deny Mostert’s request, he and Coleman would be in line to share backfield work again. Only Jerick McKinnon, who remains with the team despite two missed seasons, and Jeff Wilson could make this a larger committee.

A report surfaced last week indicating the 49ers were mulling another Mostert deal. It does not appear those talks went too far. While Mostert seeking a raise adds up given the veteran’s ascent from special teams backup to productive running back, the two years remaining on the contract give the 49ers leverage. Mostert is due to make $2.6MM in 2020 base salary. His $2.9MM-AAV number ranks 25th among running backs.

Mostert, 28, bounced around the league for a while before landing with the 49ers in 2016. The ex-Purdue UDFA is the team’s longest-tenured running back, but up until 2018, he had logged just one NFL carry for six yards. Mostert averaged 7.7 yards per carry (on 34 totes) in 2018 and broke out in 2019, leading the 49ers with 772 rushing yards and pacing all running backs with 5.6 per carry. He then set a conference championship game record with four rushing touchdowns.

The 49ers traded Matt Breida to the Dolphins on Day 3 of the draft but still have Mostert, Coleman, Wilson and McKinnon under contract. The latter restructured his deal this March.

49ers Mulling Kendrick Bourne, Raheem Mostert Extensions

July 2nd, 2020 at 9:54am CST by Zachary Links

The 49ers have discussed extensions for running back Raheem Mostert and wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, according to Matt Barrows of The Athletic. It’s not immediately clear whether the Niners have engaged in serious talks with either player, but, at minimum, the front office has been planning internally. 

Mostert is under club control through 2021 thanks to the three-year extension he signed last year. The Niners don’t necessarily have to rush things, but Mostert is clearly underpaid – that deal pays him less than $3MM per year on average. At the time, Mostert was mostly a special teams player, but now, after posting 772 yards and eight touchdowns, he finds himself as the team’s RB1. As veteran NFL reporter Josina Anderson says, Mostert requested a pay raise earlier this offseason to reflect his heightened status, although his current deal does include certain rushing incentives (Twitter link). Mostert is 28 and is well aware of the shelf life of RBs, so his request makes plenty of sense.

Bourne, meanwhile, has one year to go before he hits the open market. The Niners cuffed him with the restricted free agent tender at the second-round level, retaining him for a cool $3.27MM in 2020. The 24-year-old (25 in August) has spent the last three years with SF and has been a key part of the offense over the last two. Between 2018 and 2019, Bourne has totaled 72 catches for 845 yards and nine touchdowns. This year, he has a prime opportunity to take things up a notch. With Emmanuel Sanders out of the picture and Deebo Samuel nursing a broken foot, Bourne could open the year as one of Jimmy Garoppolo‘s top targets.

NFC West Notes: Seahawks, 49ers, Mostert

June 3rd, 2020 at 7:31pm CST by Dallas Robinson

After signing a one-year, $2.75MM deal with the Seahawks last month, veteran running back Carlos Hyde is expected to see most of his action on early-down plays, according to Brady Henderson of ESPN.com. Incumbent starter Chris Carson isn’t expected to lose any work to Hyde that he wouldn’t have to Rashaad Penny (who is likely to begin the regular season on the physically unable to perform list), meaning that Carson should still see the bulk of the carries in Seattle. While Carson has posted only 57 receptions over the past two seasons, Henderson notes that’s more a function of the Seahawks’ run-based offense than a comment on Carson’s ability as a three-down back. Hyde, meanwhile, has $500K worth of per-game roster bonuses in his contract, which Henderson adds is a favorite technique of Seattle’s front office. If Hyde doesn’t play well enough to be active for most games, the Seahawks could recoup a small bit of cash.

Here’s more from the NFC West:

  • While George Kittle is believed to be next in line for a 49ers extension, running back Raheem Mostert could land a new deal before the star tight end, as Matt Barrows of The Athletic writes. On one hand, Mostert is certainly underpaid. He signed a three-year extension last spring with an annual value of less than $3MM. Mostert was largely a special teams player at the time, but after posting 772 yards and eight touchdowns in 2020, he’s worth more. On the other hand, San Francisco controls Mostert’s rights through the 2021 campaign, he’s already 28 years old, and running back’s shelf lives are notoriously short.
  • Trent Williams played alongside a bevy of average-or-worse quarterbacks during his time with the Redskins, but the veteran left tackle believes he’s stepping into an excellent signal-caller situation with the 49ers. “I think Jimmy [Garoppolo] is awesome,” Williams told Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. “I think he has proven that he’s a quarterback that you can win with…From being in my position, not having a lot of success in the league, having a good quarterback then to having a kind of musical chairs back there, I know the importance of it. So I’m extremely happy just to be part of an offense that really don’t need me to win. I add to it.” San Francisco, which acquired Williams in exchange for third- and fifth-round picks, hasn’t worked out an extension with the 31-year-old, but reportedly has agreed to give him more money upfront.
  • In case you missed it, the Rams were one of several teams to gain additional cap space earlier this week thanks to the NFL’s post-June 1 release system.

49ers Rumors: Armstead, Running Backs, Thomas

February 16th, 2020 at 3:59pm CST by Marc Delucchi

In his 49ers mailbag, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports addressed Arik Armstead‘s impending free agency. The seventeenth overall selection in the 2015 NFL Draft struggled early in his career with injuries and consistency but emerged as an integral part of San Francisco’s defensive line over the past two seasons. Armstead has the versatility to play the edge of defensive coordinator Robert Saleh’s 4-3 defense on early downs and then move inside on passing situations.

Armstead has started each of the 49ers last 35 games (playoffs included) and set career-marks this season in sacks (10.0), tackles for loss (11), quarterback hits (18), and tackles (54) as a part of the vaunted Niners defensive front. Now, set for unrestricted free agency, Maiocco downplays the chances San Francisco franchise tags the defensive lineman to trade him. He believes if the team has the cap space to apply the tag, they’ll work out an extension.

Here’s some more rumors out of Santa Clara:

  • Matt Barrows and David Lombardi of The Athletic continued their “State of the 49ers” series, this time looking at the team’s running backs. While no halfback amassed 1,000 yards on the season, the team’s depth at the position was obvious to anyone following the team. Tevin Coleman, Matt Breida, and Raheem Mostert all played like the team’s number one back at different points in the season. They place a primary focus on the future of Jerrick McKinnon-who missed the past two seasons with injuries-with the team. If he returns on a team-friendly contract, San Francisco may be comfortable letting Tevin Coleman pursue opportunities elsewhere.
  • Following their Super Bowl defeat, the 49ers now face a series of difficult salary-cap decisions. Patrick Holloway of Niners Nation speculates the team could attach a draft pick to defensive lineman Solomon Thomas to save more than $4MM in cap space. Since Thomas was selected with the third overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, his entire contract is guaranteed and the Niners cannot gain any cap relief from releasing him. However, if he were traded, his dead cap hit would be cut in half, saving the team half of his nearly $9MM cap hit.

West Rumors: Miller, Celek, 49ers, RBs

June 22nd, 2019 at 4:56pm CST by Sam Robinson

Von Miller turned 30 this offseason and will soon start his ninth NFL season, but it doesn’t look like the Broncos will need to consider making plans for a near-future Miller retirement. Denver’s all-time sack leader said (via USA Today’s Lila Bromberg) he wants to play long enough to make a run at Bruce Smith‘s NFL record. That will be quite difficult, with Miller (98 sacks) having averaged 12.25 sacks per season (a figure weighed down by his 2013 suspension-shortened slate) and Smith having recorded 200 during his 19-year career. Miller would need to average 10.2 sacks over the next 10 seasons to get there. However, Miller sits second among active NFLers in sacks — trailing only Terrell Suggs (132). While the odds are against him eclipsing the Smith standard that has stood for 16 years, it is notable the likely Hall of Fame-bound pass rusher plans on playing for several more seasons. Three seasons remain on Miller’s six-year, $114.1MM contract.

Here’s the latest from the West divisions, shifting to the NFC West:

  • The back surgery 49ers tight end Garrett Celek underwent this month features an approximate two-month recovery timetable, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area notes, adding that it no longer appears certain the 31-year-old skill-position cog will be able to continue his career. Celek ended last season in concussion protocol, where he remains for procedural purposes, and the extension he signed in 2016 has just one more season remaining on it. The 49ers prepared for this possibility by signing Levine Toilolo, drafting Kaden Smith in the sixth round and adding Wyoming product Tyree Mayfield as a UDFA.
  • Tevin Coleman‘s history with Kyle Shanahan, and the time Jerick McKinnon and Matt Breida missed this offsason, makes him the best bet to be San Francisco’s top back, Maiocco writes. McKinnon is expected to return for the start of training camp, but it has been a while since the former Vikings running back — who received $18MM guaranteed in 2018 — has played. The 49ers will likely make one of these players a healthy scratch on game days, with Maiocco adding the presences of Kyle Juszczyk and top special-teamer Raheem Mostert will force Shanahan to deactivate one of his top three backs. This situation bears monitoring during the preseason, as it would seem a trade could benefit the 49ers.
  • Robert Nkemdiche‘s recent arrest may spell the end of his underwhelming Cardinals stay.
  • More clarity emerged on the Todd Gurley front, but the two-time All-Pro Rams running back’s situation figures to remain murky until we near the regular season.

Bay Area Rumors: Breida, 49ers, Raiders

May 25th, 2019 at 3:05pm CST by Sam Robinson

Many 49ers are not healthy as the team goes through its OTAs. In addition to the likes of Jerick McKinnon, Weston Richburg, Jason Verrett and Kwon Alexander, the team lost one of its running backs because of a weightlifting injury. The 49ers will not have Matt Breida available until at least training camp. The running back, who battled maladies last season before ending the year on IR, suffered a partially torn pectoral muscle while lifting recently, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area notes. San Francisco is already without McKinnon and backup Raheem Mostert, who is battling for a roster spot now that the team employs Tevin Coleman. While torn pectorals of any kind are obviously a concern, Kyle Shanahan said Breida will not require surgery. But the 49ers’ optimal backfield still has a ways to go before coming together.

Here is the latest from the NFL’s Bay Area teams, in their final offseason sharing a region.

  • While Breida is expected to return before the start of the regular season, Garrett Celek‘s timeline is more concerning. The eighth-year 49ers tight end suffered a concussion in Week 16 last season and has yet to be cleared from concussion protocol, according to Shanahan. Celek is also dealing with a back injury. The soon-to-be 31-year-old tight end resides as the 49ers’ second-longest-tenured player, having been with the team since 2012. The 49ers did draft Kaden Smith in the sixth round but, beyond Celek, do not have much at tight end behind George Kittle.
  • Jimmie Ward‘s injury likely will not keep him out for the rumored three-month span, with Maiocco believing that to be on the cautious side of the safety’s timeline. Should they get Ward back by training camp, the 49ers are not likely to sign a veteran safety — like Eric Berry or Tre Boston — to replace Ward, Maiocco adds. Although Ward is back on only a one-year deal, the 49ers believe he is their best defensive back when healthy. On a team that employs Richard Sherman, that’s certainly a notable distinction.
  • The Jon Gruden–Mike Mayock regime reshuffled their front office and scouting staff recently. The roles of recently hired staffers Dwayne Joseph, DuJuan Daniels and Walter Juliff are now known. Daniels, who joined the Raiders after a Patriots tenure, is now Mayock’s assistant director of player personnel. Joseph, who came over from the Eagles, will become the Raiders’ director of pro personnel. A former Cowboys exec, Juliff is now a senior advisor to the GM, NBC Sports Bay Area’s Scott Bair tweets. Recently with the Senior Bowl and the Bills, Jack Gilmore is now in place as Raiders scouting coordinator. The Raiders also hired recent Eagles scouting coordinator John Hill as a pro scout. Lastly, Oakland promoted Trey Scott and Teddy Atlas (not that one) to assistant player personnel director and assistant director of college scouting, respectively. Scott was one of the few staffers to help with the Raiders’ draft, after Mayock dismissed the scouts prior to draft weekend.

Contract Details: Ford, Mosley, Crowder

March 16th, 2019 at 10:34am CST by Ben Levine

Some assorted contract details from around the NFL:

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