49ers’ Mostert was considering optout
This offseason, just months removed from his longawaited professional breakthrough, Raheem Mostert considered taking a yearlong break from the NFL.
The 49ers’ running back who went from anonymity to celebrity during last season’s Super Bowl run weighed whether he needed to go back into seclusion. Mostert, 28, who is married with a 13monthold son, Gunnar, and is expecting his second child in late September, discussed opting out of the 2020 season because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Sixty NFL players have opted out before Thursday’s deadline to do so.
“It was a very long and tough discussion with my wife,” Mostert said. “… The discussions we’ve had, man, have been long and extensive. But she understands the importance of me being out here and being able to provide for the family and all those good things. So we’ve had more positive talks than negative.”
Mostert reported to training camp with a newly signed contract and mixed emotions. For the first time in a career filled primarily with pink slips and specialteams duty, he will begin a season in a leadback role. However, he will do so without wife, Devon, and Gunnar, who will stay back in Devon’s hometown outside Cleveland this season because of safety concerns.
Mostert was among the first athletes to publicly raise concerns about being exposed to the virus and spreading it. On March 4, he announced he wouldn’t travel to the Bay Area for his scheduled appearance at an autograph show because of the local outbreak.
On Wednesday, Mostert said he might return to Ohio during the regular season for the birth
of their second son.
“We’ve both had nights where we cried on each other and just talked about it, especially before I left,” Mostert said. “Just talking about how we’re going to manage this whole deal.”
Mostert left to rejoin the 49ers, whom he referred to as a “family” while characterizing their summer dispute about his contract as a sibling squabble.
Mostert, who wanted a raise after rushing for 715 yards and 11 touchdowns in last season’s final eight games, publicly requested a trade through his agent in early July. He signed a new deal July 27 with a bonus and incentives that could nearly double his salary of $2.575 million in 2020.
“What family doesn’t have those problems?” Mostert said. “I argue with my little brother, you know? It’s one of those things where I argue with him, but I also love him at the same time. That’s what’s going on here. So we eventually got it fixed. It’s a blessing and I’m glad to be here.”
Mostert indicated conversations with general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan cleared the air after he’d made his trade request.
Shanahan was dealing with the recent deaths of two grandparents.
“I talked with John, of course,” Mostert said. “And Kyle. Especially Kyle. He wanted to see where my mind was at. He wanted to talk to me. We didn’t necessarily talk numbers and stuff. We just talked about life.”
Mostert, an undrafted free agent who entered last year with 297 rushing yards in a career spent with seven teams, is hoping to build on a season in which he led NFL running backs in yards per carry (5.6).
He might have considered opting out, but he’s now all in.
Mostert said he wants opponents to consider him “somebody we can’t take lightly. I want to put fear in the other teams’ eyes. That’s my mindset.”