As if the season-ending injury to starting cornerback Jason Verrett was not disappointing enough, the San Francisco 49ers lost another key player during Week 1's victory over the Detroit Lions. Raheem Mostert's 2021 campaign is over. The running back suffered a knee injury and will undergo season-ending surgery.
That's a tough loss on each side of the football, and San Francisco still has 16 more regular-season games to play.
"Just to say, Raheem is such an awesome dude," center Alex Mack told 95.7 The Game's
Damon Bruce, Ray Ratto, and Matt Kolsky on Wednesday. "It's been great to join this team and get to know him. My heart goes out to him. I hope he gets healthy and gets back quick."
Mostert is scheduled to become a free agent after this season. You have to wonder if we've seen the last of him in a 49ers uniform.
Rookie running back Elijah Mitchell replaced Mostert on Sunday and proceeded to rush for an impressive 104 rushing yards and a touchdown on 19 carries in his first NFL game. The performance was enough to earn Mitchell a Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week nomination and gives fans hope that the Niners might overcome the loss of Mostert.
"Mitch did an incredible job stepping up and delivering and coming onto the big stage and really taking on the challenge and thriving," Mack said. "Great job as a rookie."
But it's not just Mitchell who will be asked to carry the load this season. The 49ers still have a good amount of potential depth at the position. There is the team's other rookie, third-round pick Trey Sermon, and JaMycal Hasty. In addition, San Francisco claimed Trenton Cannon off waivers and signed Kerryon Johnson to the practice squad.
The Niners hope that, paired with Jeff Wilson Jr.'s eventual return from a knee injury, will be enough to carry the rushing attack.
"I know we have a lot of running back talent back there, and they all get rotated through," Mack added. "Our coaching staff really keeps them accountable and coaches them very well. So, [they are] pretty dependable. Anybody who's back there can thrive in this system in terms of what we do in blocking."
The next big test will be on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.
You can listen to the entire conversation with Mack below.