San Francisco 49ers running back Raheem Mostert called off his season after suffering a knee injury against Detroit Lions on Sunday. Initially, Head Coach Kyle Shanahan believed that he would return in about 8 weeks’ time. However, what was hoped to be a minor arthroscopic surgery has instead shattered the hopes of the running back to play the season all along.

Raheem Mostert expresses himself on Twitter

Raheem Mostert took to Twitter to announce, “This gives me, without a doubt in my mind, the best possibility at coming back 110%. I have ALWAYS come back stronger and I will this time too! I have faith in myself, my doctors, my support system, my team, and God,”

Due to the now season-long absence of the 29-year-old, 49ers signed in running back Kerryon Johnson to the practice squad. Fortunately, the spot looks well backed up by rookies Elijah Mitchell and Trey Sermon along with second-year pro JaMycal Hasty.

Monday’s injury report given by Kyle Shanahan pointed out a “chipped cartilage” in the knee that would require arthroscopic surgery. After hours of consultation with multitudes of doctors and physios, he came to the conclusion of going through a future-proof road to recovery, which would take a much longer time than what was expected.

A threat to his 3-year contract with 49ers?

However, this suffocates his 3-year long contract with the 49ers, which will conclude by the end of this season. The $8.65 million deal that he signed in 2019 with the franchise produced fruitful results during the very first season. However, it took a hit after he missed 8 weeks due to knee and ankle sprains. And now his third season has ended well before it even kicked off.

Even though they have a series of players backing up the spot with their own skillsets, it is no wonder that the 49ers cannot produce a like-for-like player replacing him. Mitchell will step in for Mostert, with Hasty and Sermon coming in for second and third in the rotation, respectively.

The 49ers are looking forward to testing their running backs against the upcoming game against the Eagles. On the contrary, Mostert is taking a safe route to recovery as he prepares to be back even stronger for his 2022 debut.

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