When the Las Vegas Raiders signed veteran running back Raheem Mostert in March, he was in line to compete for the team's starting running back job.
But a lot has changed since then, with the team drafting Ashton Jeanty at No. 6 overall in April, which pushed Mostert to a backup role.
While we figured Mostert was a safe bet to make the roster and back up the rookie given the need for experience in the group, one beat writer doesn't see it that way.
In his 53-man roster projection, Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal has Mostert getting cut and the Raiders keeping Jeanty, Zamir White, Sincere McCormick and Dylan Laube.
Here's what Bonsignore said about his prediction:
White has impressed the coaching staff and is leading the charge to be Jeanty’s primary backup. That could make Mostert, a veteran free-agent signing, expendable. McCormick and Laube are both younger than Mostert and can contribute on special teams.
Mostert missing the cut and losing out to both Laube and White would be a massive upset and a shocking turn of events.
Laube played just two offensive snaps in 2024 after showing flashes during the preseason and White failed miserably in a starting role last year and was even the subject of trade rumors earlier this offseason.
But as Bonsignore notes, Raiders head coach Pete Carroll has spoken highly of White, who had a strong showing near the end of the 2023 campaign before he struck out in his third season.
“He really has sent a message that he's the hammer," Carroll said of White. "I love having different styles of running backs. His physicality that we've been celebrating with him, and we tell him we like the way he runs. Don't try to be something that you're not. Run heavy and run thick and tough like he does. I’m really excited about what he’s done.”
While Laube has looked more comfortable in exhibition play in 2025, the best thing he has going for him is his ability to play on special teams. He appeared on 116 snaps in that area in 2024.
McCormick, who can also play on special teams, was just about the only Raiders running back to find any semblance of success last season, so his presence in Bonsignore's prediction isn't surprising.
Mostert, 33, resurrected his career in Miami with 891 rushing yards in 2022 and 1,012 yards in 2023, which earned him an extension. However, Mostert lost his starting job to De'Von Achane in 2024 and was cut in February.
If the Raiders were to cut Mostert, they would only incur a dead-cap charge of $175,000 and would save nearly $1.4 million.
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