San Francisco 49ers running back Raheem Mostert has requested a trade, according to a tweet by his agent, Brett Tessler. The agent noted the months of unproductive contract talks with the team as the basis for the request.
Tessler expressed disappointment in the situation and for his client, who led all NFL running backs in yards-per-carry (5.6) last season and helped the 49ers reach Super Bowl LIV.
After months of unproductive talks with the 49ers about fairly adjusting Raheem Mostert's contract (which paid him for special teams) we have requested a trade. Disappointing that it would come to this for a guy who led all NFL RBs in YPC & helped lead them to the Super Bowl.
— Brett Tessler (@TesslerSports) July 8, 2020
Mostert is scheduled to earn a base salary of just $2.575 million in 2020 and won't become a free agent until 2022. There was a report earlier this month from Matt Barrows of The Athletic that the 49ers had discussed a contract extension for Mostert. It was later revealed that the running back requested a pay raise this offseason.
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Mostert led the team with 772 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns on 137 carries last season. His 29-carry, 220-yard, and four-touchdown performance against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game helped earn San Francisco a Super Bowl berth.
Mostert had been preparing for a bigger workload with the 49ers in 2020.
"Right now, I'm just building myself up," he told reporters in May. "I'm actually gaining some more muscle, which is kind of bizarre just because I haven't really been able to think about gaining muscle because I've already had muscle like that.
"Just trying to incorporate those things in my daily workouts, so that way, I'm able to take those hits and be one of those guys getting 200 carries. I've got to get prepared for that, and the only way that I know how is to get bulky and stronger."
The 49ers signed Mostert to a three-year deal on March 15, 2019. The running back initially signed with San Francisco on November 28, 2016.
Mostert entered the NFL after signing with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent out of Purdue in 2015.
49ers defensive lineman Ronald Blair may have sufficiently summed up 49ers fans' thoughts following this development.
2020 make it stop 😱
— Ronald Blair III (@superblair) July 8, 2020