WHITE SULFUR SPRINGS, W.Va. – Two days and several medical consultations after leaving the season against the Detroit Lions with a knee injury, the season of Raheem Mostert of the San Francisco 49ers is over.
Mostert went to social media on Tuesday to announce that an injury the Niners hoped would require minor arthroscopic surgery would end their 2021. Season, Monday, Niners had said he could return in about eight weeks.
“This gives me, without a doubt, the best chance of returning 110%. I have ALWAYS come back stronger and I will do it again this time! I have faith in myself, in my doctors, in my support system, on my team, and God, ”Mostert said in a statement posted on social media, adding that the decision“ avoided ”her.
– Raheem Mostert (@ RMos_8Ball) September 14, 2021
With Mostert finished for the season, the 49ers incorporate runner Kerryon Johnson into their training team, ESPN agent Drew Rosenhaus told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Johnson joins a runner who also includes rookies Elijah Mitchell and Trey Sermon and sophomore JaMycal Hasty, all of them on the active roster.
Mostert, 29, suffered the injury in Sunday’s 41-33 victory over the Detroit Lions. He led twice for 20 yards on San Francisco’s second possession, but headed for the side shortly after a 9-yard gain in the second play of the series.
On Monday, Niners coach Kyle Shanahan announced that Mostert would be missing about eight weeks with “broken cartilage” in one knee that would require arthroscopic surgery. But Mostert sought multiple opinions to make sure that when he returns, he will be in full force. These additional opinions pointed him to surgery that would require a longer recovery time.
All of this casts doubt on whether Mostert has played his last game with the 49ers. He is in the final season of a three-year, $ 8.65 million contract he signed in 2019. He finished the end of the 2019 season, burst onto the scene in the playoffs and rushed to 220 yards and four touchdowns in the NFC championship game. against the Green Bay Packers.
But Mostert was limited to eight games in 2020, as knee and ankle sprains cost him two and six games, respectively. He joined the Niners as the top defender this year, but the team began planning for the future by selecting Sermon in the third round and Mitchell in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL draft.
Mitchell intervened for Mostert after the injury. He believes he will get the first crack in the starting lineup after setting a 49ers franchise record in running yards (104 vs. 19) in a debut. Hasty, who ran for a touchdown against Detroit, is expected to move up to second in the rotation with Sermon third.
Johnson could be a candidate to be activated, as the Niners will only have 50 players on the active roster when Mostert and cornerback Jason Verrett (ACL torn right) move to the injured reserve this week. In addition, receiver Jalen Hurd went to the injured reserve on Saturday and the team has yet to sign anyone to replace him on the 53-man roster.