Mostert Returns to Dolphins
Raheem Mostert went through four teams before his NFL career took off, so no one can blame him for wanting to be reunited with one of the coaches most responsible for his emergence as a quality NFL running back.
Now Mostert will be heading back to where his career start, rejoining former San Francisco 49ers running game guru Mike McDaniel after agreeing to terms with the Miami Dolphins as an unrestricted free agent.
The news was announced by Mostert's agent, Brett Tessler, and reportedly involves a one-year deal for $3.125 million.
Mostert, who will turn 30 on April 9, is the second running back the Dolphins have signed as unrestricted free agent following Chase Edmonds, who came over from Arizona.
Mostert is coming off a significant knee injury that cut short his 2021 season after one game, but Tessler said last week the running back was on track to be ready for the start of training camp.
Before his injury last year, Mostert rushed for 772 yards and 521 yards in 2020 and 2021, respectively, and he'll bring to Miami a very healthy 5.7 per-carry average for his career.
Where Mostert Fits with the Dolphins RB Group
"Being familiar with the whole scheme, the head coach and the plan that he has for me moving forward is why I went there," Mostert told NFL reporter Josina Anderson. "He told me my role will be similar to what it was in San Francisco, but he still expects me to compete.”
Along with Edmonds, Mostert will join a Dolphins running back corps that currently includes Myles Gaskin, 2021 seventh-round pick Gerrid Doaks and Salvon Ahmed, who the team retained by tendering him as an exclusive-rights free agent.
The other four running backs who ended last season on the Dolphins roster — Malcolm Brown, Duke Johnson, Phillip Lindsay and Patrick Laird — all are unrestricted free agents.
Additionally, the Dolphins agreed to terms Wednesday with former Raiders fullback Alec Ingold.
After entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent, Mostert played his first NFL game with the Dolphins in 2015 when he had two kickoff returns for 57 yards in a 23-20 loss against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
He would play for Cleveland and Baltimore also that season before moving on to the Bears and 49ers in 2016.
But it was with the 49ers in 2017, the year McDaniel arrived alongside head coach Kyle Shanahan, that Mostert's career took off.
The highlight, of course, was his brilliant performance in the 2019 NFC Championship Game when he rushed for 220 yards and four touchdowns in a 37-20 victory against the Green Bay Packers that sent the 49ers to Super Bowl LIV at Hard Rock Stadium.
Injuries have been an issue for Mostert, who has played a full season only once (2019) and missed eight games in 2020 before his injury in the season opener last year.
If he can stay healthy, though, his speed and his experience in McDaniel's scheme should make him an asset for the Dolphins.
