49ers could have league’s best backfield after agreeing to deal with Raheem Mostert
By Mike Luciano
The San Francisco 49ers will have Raheem Mostert in 2020.
Under San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, Raheem Mostert went from practice squad back to solid backup to quality starter on an NFC champion. Mostert tried his best to leverage his newfound position into either a payday or a trade out of San Francisco, and one of his wishes has finally been granted after getting a new contract.
After breaking out in 2019 with a 5.6 yards per carry average as the lead dog in a San Francisco backfield that almost won a championship, Mostert has agreed to a re-worked contract with the 49ers that will keep him in the Bay Area.
According to Adam Schefter, Mostert is due $2.575 million in base salary, with a $300,000 bonus and he can make an additional $2.75 million in bonuses and incentives. And if he meets all incentives, he can reach a $5 million payday in 2020, according to Tom Pelissero.
The San Francisco 49ers can deploy Mostert, Tevin Coleman and Jerick McKinnon.
In addition to Mostert, who is expected to split carries in Shanahan’s offense, San Francisco can rotate former Atlanta Falcons back Tevin Coleman and former Minnesota Vikings speedster Jerick McKinnon, who missed the last two seasons due to injury, into the lineup. While Mostert is going to get the lion’s share of the carries after a standout 2019, Coleman’s ability to run between the tackles in Shanahan’s zone scheme and McKinnon’s pure speed give the 49ers nearly limitless creativity on offense, even without Matt Breida.
For all the hype surrounding Jimmy Garoppolo, George Kittle, and Deebo Samuel, Shanahan, like his father Mike did with the Denver Broncos, wants to run the ball between the tackles with ease as much as possible. In order to do that, you need either one standout running back like Terrell Davis or a three-headed monster of specialists. Between the explosive Mostert, speedy McKinnon, and powerful Coleman, the 49ers will look to run over opponents in 2020.
The 49ers are built around their bone-crunching defense, Shanahan’s ever-experimental offensive mind, and a healthy ground game that helps Garoppolo set up play action. Now that Mostert is taken care of, the main component that made San Francisco’s offense chug last year is back and ready to dominate in 2020.