Injury-prone is a word that probably gets tossed around too frequently. Football is violent game where everyone gets hurt on occasion, and there's plenty of luck involved in staying healthy. But I think it can be reasonably applied to some players, which brings us to Raheem Mostert.
Apparently the 49ers are discussing a possible reunion with their former starter, which will -- perhaps -- give some people concerns about the offseason dynasty appeal of Elijah Mitchell. Mitchell, ironically enough, missed time in his rookie season due to four different injuries himself, so he hasn't proven to be a picture of durability.
But I'll happily invest in Mitchell while taking a hard pass on Mostert. Seems really unlikely to me he'll ever be a viable starter, in the NFL or in fantasy leagues, again.
Mostert turns 30 in April, practically senile for a running back. The players who have put up significant numbers at the position at that age are a whole lot better on the career scale than Mostert. With Mostert, with all due respect, we're talking about a guy who had one good season.
Since that 2019 breakout campaign, where he put up 952 total yards and 10 touchdowns, Mostert has simply been unable to stay on the field. Last year he was lost for the season after all of 2 carries in the season opener. Getting three years older since his strong season isn't going to make things better.
Here's the Mostert timeline since the start of the 2020 season.
| RAHEEM MOSTERT, LAST TWO SEASONS | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | G | Opp | Att | Run | No | Rec | TD |
| 2020 | 1 | Ariz. | 15 | 56 | 4 | 95 | 1 |
| 2020 | 2 | at NYJ | 8 | 92 | 2 | 15 | 1 |
| 2020 | 3 | at NYG | OUT - Knee | ||||
| 2020 | 4 | Phil. | OUT - Knee | ||||
| 2020 | 5 | Mia. | 11 | 90 | 3 | 29 | 0 |
| 2020 | 6 | LAR | 17 | 65 | 2 | 11 | 0 |
| 2020 | 7 | at N.E. | IR - Ankle | ||||
| 2020 | 8 | at Sea. | IR - Ankle | ||||
| 2020 | 9 | G.B. | IR - Ankle | ||||
| 2020 | 10 | at N.O. | IR - Ankle | ||||
| 2020 | 11 | at LAR | 16 | 43 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 2020 | 12 | Buf. | 9 | 42 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2020 | 13 | Wash. | 14 | 65 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| 2020 | 14 | at Dall. | 14 | 68 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 15 | at Ariz. | IR - Ankle | ||||
| 2020 | 16 | Sea. | IR - Ankle | ||||
| 2021 | 1 | at Det. | 2 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 2 | at Phil. | IR - Knee | ||||
You can't necessarily count on Mitchell either. San Francisco drafted Trey Sermon in the third round, and perhaps they'll make some effort in the preseason to make that pick look better than it currently does. And this being the Niners, they'll probably throw a sixth-round pick at some other running back in the NFL Draft. They may even have Jeff Wilson around.
But I'll take Mitchell, and whether they resign Mostert or not will have zero impact on my interest in him. A nice story at one time, but I feel pretty comfortable saying it's over.
--Andy Richardson