Not going anywhere: Mostert, 49ers revise contract following trade demand
Raheem Mostert won’t be traded by the 49ers after all.
The emerging running back, who requested a trade earlier this month, had his contract revised to make it satisfactory for both sides, his agent Brett Tessler tweeted Monday.
“Just finalized a new deal for Raheem Mostert with the San Francisco 49ers,” Tessler wrote. “Happy we got things worked out and looking forward to him having another great season there. Thanks to the organization for taking care of him.”
The deal includes a signing bonus and reworked incentives package that could be worth as much as $2.75 million, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, making it possible Mostert could double his original salary of nearly $2.6 million.
The deal makes good on Mostert’s initial request to get paid like one of the team’s top running backs, putting his contract on par with Tevin Coleman, who’s scheduled to make $4.5 million in 2020. Mostert was one year into a three-year pact worth some $8.7 million he signed last offseason while viewed primarily as a special teams standout. Mostert’s career high in carries, after all, was 34 in 2018 before breaking out last season and in the playoffs.
Now Mostert finds himself at the top of the team’s running back pecking order even if he isn’t the sure-fire starter. Mostert’s next start will be his first in the NFL while the team used Coleman (11 starts) and Matt Breida (five) as their starters last season.
Mostert and Coleman both had 137 carries during the regular season, though Mostert led NFL running backs by averaging 5.6 yards per attempt to Coleman’s 4.0.
Mostert, of course, had one of the best single-game performances in 49ers history when he ran for 220 yards and four touchdowns in the NFC title game against the Packers. Joining the 28-year-old in the running back room is Coleman, Jerick McKinnon, Jeff Wilson Jr. and undrafted rookies JaMycal Hasty and Salvon Ahmed.
Breida was traded to the Miami Dolphins for a fifth-round pick in the 2020 draft, which landed West Virginia offensive lineman Colton McKivitz.
Mostert, who his known for his track speed, said earlier this offseason during the COVID-19 pandemic he was adding weight to prepare for more hits that come with an expanded workload.
“I’ve actually been gaining some more muscle, which is kind of bizarre just because I haven’t really been able to think about gaining muscle because I’ve already had muscle like that,” Mostert said in the spring. “But just trying to incorporate those things into my daily workouts so I’m able to take those hits and be one of those guys that are getting 200 carries. I got to get prepared for that, and the only way I know how is to get bulky and stronger.”
Mostert is expected to report to 49ers headquarters in Santa Clara on Tuesday to have his first of two COVID-19 tests before full-team work begins the first week of August.
This story was originally published July 27, 2020 at 1:02 PM.