Eight weeks ago, San Francisco 49ers running back Raheem Mostert suffered a broken arm that required surgery a day later. It was a nasty looking injury, but it appears Mostert is making significant progress in his recovery. Matt Barrows got this picture of Mostert’s arm, saying he has a brace for another month.
Remember when Raheem Mostert’s right arm broke/crumpled last month? He was shooting hoops in the locker room today. He only has to wear a brace for another month. pic.twitter.com/hob9E7NEJd
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) December 26, 2018
Mostert will be a restricted free agent this offseason. The 49ers can tender him with a first round tender, second round tender, or original round tender. He entered the NFL as a UDFA, so the last tender would just be a right of first refusal on a contract. Running backs are losing value in the NFL, but Mostert could very well find an interesting market this offseason.
After spending the first three seasons in the NFL as a core special teams player, he got a shot at running back this season thanks in part to Matt Breida’s balky ankle injury. He lost a fumble in Week 5 against Arizona, but responded in a big way the following week against Green Bay with 87 yards on 12 carries. He had 78 total yards the next week against the Rams, and then 86 rushing yards on seven carries before breaking his arm against the Raiders. He finished the season averaging 7.7 yards per carry.
Kyle Shanahan and Bobby Turner have done all sorts of impressive work with under-the-radar running backs, so it is possible a market won’t develop for Mostert. But either way, Mostert will be looking at a sizable raise. Mostert made $705,000 this season as an exclusive rights free agent. If he is tendered with an original round tender, he could make $2,035,000. A second round tender would require a one-year salary of $3,110,000. A first round tender would require a salary of $4,429,000.
The 49ers have plenty of cap space. An RFA can shop for another deal and if he signs it and the 49ers do not match, they get the corresponding compensation. I doubt a team would give up a first or second round pick for Mostert, so do the 49ers go with one of those tenders? Or maybe they try and ink him to a two- or three-year extension (assuming he is amenable to that)?
How do you see this playing out?