One of the highlights of the San Francisco 49ers' run to the Super Bowl during the 2019 season was the sudden emergence of running back Raheem Mostert, who came out of nowhere to assert himself as the lead back during the Niners' playoff run.
It was punctuated by his dominant performance in the NFC Championship game against the Green Bay Packers, where Mostert ran for 220 yards and four touchdowns as the 49ers beat Green Bay to earn a Super Bowl berth, 37-20.
Mostert became the first player in NFL history to run for over 200 yards and score four or more touchdowns in a single game.
The running back's showing was so powerful, then-49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo only threw the ball eight times, completing six passes (two of which went to Mostert himself) for 77 yards.
Mostert was a standout special teams ace who had been on four teams and several practice squads prior to signing with San Francisco in 2016, but he never featured as a running back until 2018 when he carried the ball 34 times for 261 yards and a touchdown in a backfield that also included leading rusher Matt Breida and Alfred Morris on a 4-12 Niners team.
Injuries to Breida and Tevin Colman in 2019 allowed him to ascend to the starter late in the year, and he ended the year as the 49ers' leading rusher with 772 yards on 137 carries (5.6 yards per attempt), before his explosion in the NFC Championship.
But after two injury-plagued seasons of his own, the 49ers let Mostert test free agency after the 2021 season. He signed with the Miami Dolphins, where he had two good seasons, before missing four games and being subjegated to the bench in 2024.
All this is a lead-up to this news from Mostert's agent on Valentine's Day:
Looks like my client Raheem Mostert will be playing elsewhere next season. Very thankful for his time with the Miami Dolphins, and this gives them a chance to get younger and gives him a chance to pursue a ring elsewhere.
— Brett Tessler (@TesslerSports) February 14, 2025
Of course the question comes: should the 49ers bring Mostert, who will be 33 in April, back to San Francisco in 2025?
49ers should have no issue 'kicking tires' on Raheem Mostert
On the one hand, the answer seems like relatively easy "no" considering the former Purdue Boilmaker's age and sudden drop in production in 2024 (he only averaged 3.3 yards per carry after seasons of 4.9 and 4.8 in his first two years in Miami).
But the Niners' running back room is far from settled outside of Christian McCaffrey, who is coming off an injury-riddled season himself, and second-year back Isaac Guerendo, who showed flashes during his rookie year but also missed a good chunk of time, albeit only one full game, with nagging injuries, some of which he played through when called upon.
Beyond that, Jordan Mason is a restricted free agent, but the 49ers are unlikely to try to spend money on a backup running back after Mason proved he was a capable starter while CMC was out at the beginning of last year.
Other than that, it's Patrick Taylor and Israel Abanikanda in the current running back's room.
Preseason rosters are 90 players strong, and guys like McCaffrey and maybe even Guerendo aren't likely to see much, if any, action during preseason games. Both, particularly CMC, could use someone to spell them in training camp.
Because of that, Mostert seems like a solid veteran to have around camp, provided he's willing to fight for a spot and maybe even go back to being a core special teams guy like he did early in his career. Should the Niners deal with the kind of injury attrition they endured at the position a year ago, having Mostert around would be a bonus.
Worse case, he's a camp body and proves he can't cut it anymore.
Best case, he's still got enough juice to be a respectable backup and proves to still have the breakaway speed to be a bit of a game changer when called upon.
Either way, it could be the type of talent influx and competition the 49ers need at the position this offseason.
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