Seattle Seahawks Unlikely to Face Raheem Mostert in Week 3 Contest

Dealing with an injury that prevented him from suiting up last week, Raheem Mostert has slim odds of playing for the Dolphins against the Seahawks.

Aug 17, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins running back Raheem Mostert (31) gets short gain as Washington Commanders cornerback Mike Sainristil (2) closes in during the first quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

Already facing a backup quarterback in Skylar Thompson due to Tua Tagovailoa's latest concussion, the Seattle Seahawks likely won't see one of the Miami Dolphins two backfield dynamos on Sunday at Lumen Field either.

Per Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel, the Dolphins are "pessimistic" Mostert will be available in Week 3 as he continues to nurse a chest injury. The veteran back suffered the injury during Miami's season opener and was held out last week in a home loss to Buffalo.

Now in his 10th NFL season, Mostert has been a staple of McDaniel's offense dating back to their time together with the 49ers, where the former Purdue standout rushed for 772 yards and eight touchdowns in 2019 with McDaniel as the run game coordinator. Though he only rushed for 522 yards in 2020, he did so in just eight games for San Francisco, averaging five yards per carry and snagging 16 passes and two receiving touchdowns.

Once McDaniel took the head coaching job in Miami, Mostert followed him as a free agent and after a solid 2022 season, he enjoyed a breakout campaign last year, rushing for a career-high 1,012 yards and 18 touchdowns while also adding 25 catches out of the backfield. He formed one of the NFL's most dominant rushing duos alongside De'Von Achane, who rushed for 800 yards and averaged an impressive 7.6 yards per carry as a rookie for the second-ranked scoring offense in the league.

After holding the Broncos to under 80 rushing yards in their season opener and looking markedly better than the team that finished 31st defending the run in 2023, the Seahawks regressed a bit last week in an overtime win over the Patriots, allowing 185 yards and five yards per carry. Considering those continued struggles, especially with Tagovailoa out, the Dolphins should be expected to lean more heavily on their ground game, which has featured more gap concepts so far this year.

With that said, not having Mostert available will make that task a little bit tougher, as Achane has primarily been a change of pace back to this point in his career. The team also may be without Jeff Wilson Jr., one of their experienced backups, which would mean rookie Jaylen Wright and practice squad back Deneric Prince would be the only reserve options available for Sunday.

Still, as the Seahawks know all too well from facing McDaniel's well-oiled run schemes when he coached on Kyle Shanahan's staff in San Francisco, he has a history of coordinating successful ground attacks with reserve running backs. Even if Mostert doesn't play, the Dolphins won't be afraid to feature Achane and mix in their other backs with hopes of hanging tough on the road in a ball possession-oriented game without their star quarterback.