49ers RB Trey Sermon needs to see snaps in Week 2 vs. Eagles

A surprise healthy scratch in Week 1, 49ers RB Trey Sermon has an opening to contribute in Week 2 with starter Raheem Mostert sidelined once again.

One of the biggest surprises with the San Francisco 49ers concerning their 41-33 victory over the Detroit Lions in Week 1, was the surprise of rookie running back Trey Sermon being put on the inactive list.

Sermon wasn’t injured or facing any COVID-19 issues, he was simply a healthy scratching from the game despite being listed as the backup running back on the 49ers depth chart heading into Week 1.

The reason why was a pretty simple one: Sermon doesn’t have a role on special teams while fellow backups Elijah Mitchell and JaMycal Hasty do.

Mitchell and Hasty took the field instead, and Mitchell immediately broke out following what’s turned into a season-ending injury to lead back Raheem Mostert with 104 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.

Mostert suffering an injury is nothing new, and even if he avoids a torn ACL, it’s still going to be some weeks on the sideline for him.

49ers must give opportunities to Trey Sermon vs. Eagles

This opens up the opportunity to bring in Sermon as the bell cow back with fellow rookie Mitchell beside him, and that next chance will be for Sermon to make his regular-season NFL debut in Week 2 when the Niners take on the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 19.

Sermon showed some definite potential in the preseason, and it’s clear head coach Kyle Shanahan saw something special in him given the team traded up to select him in the third round.

This is especially meaningful for two reasons. One being San Francisco has a knack of making any running back look like a star in Shanahan’s run-friendly offense. The other reason is, after giving up a lot of picks to trade up for rookie quarterback Trey Lance, it was a surprise to see the team move up again, which happened for Sermon in Round 3 of this year’s draft.

Nobody should lose their spot due to injury, but Sermon now has a golden opportunity to go from inactive in Week 1 to staking his claim as a starter in Week 2 against the Eagles.

If he takes his chances, it may very well be the end of the talented-but-fragile Mostert as the starter at running back.