Raheem Mostert, an overachiever throughout his career, faces an uncertain NFL future after injuring his knee in Sunday’s season opener at Detroit. The seven-year veteran was initially thought to be facing an eight-week absence but will now miss the remainder of 2021 after opting—at the urging of his doctors—for season-ending surgery.
Losing Mostert is a serious blow to an inexperienced Niners rushing attack now led by rookies Elijah Mitchell (who should be a popular waiver add in fantasy leagues this week) and Trey Sermon, the latter a healthy scratch in Week 1. Entering the final year of a three-year, $8.7-million contract, it’s possible, if not probable, Mostert has played his final down as a 49er. That’s assuming Mostert returns to the field at all, which, according to Miami-based physical therapist Dr. Jesse Morse, is no certainty.
Athletes have traditionally had a low success rate returning from microfracture surgery, which orthopedic surgeon Dr. Nirav Pandya suggests could be a possibility for Mostert.
Even the most optimistic among us would agree it’s a grim diagnosis for a talented and highly efficient (career 5.7 yards per carry) runner, who, at 29, was already in the autumn of his career, particularly at a physically demanding position that chews players up and spits them out.
Perhaps Mostert will buck the trend and return to full health in his age-30 season next fall, lining up in the Niners backfield or with a different team in 2022. After all, the undrafted Purdue alum has made a career out of defying expectations, bouncing around the league for years as a scarcely-used practice-squadder and special teamer prior to his breakout in 2019 (952 yards from scrimmage with 10 touchdowns). But a player can only take so much punishment and after missing half of last season with a high-ankle sprain and a chunk of 2018 with a fractured forearm, Mostert may ultimately decide his body has had enough.
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