The Las Vegas Raiders added a blue-chip star in the 2025 NFL Draft, and his arrival could mean one veteran playmaker’s days with the team could be numbered.
Raiders head coach Pete Carroll landed a potential superstar in Ashton Jeanty with the No. 6 overall pick. All signs point to Jeanty being a true bellcow running back, which may mean a former Pro Bowler could be expendable.
Ashton Jeanty Poised To Take Over the Offense From Week 1
The Raiders couldn’t run the football in 2024. The absence of Josh Jacobs hurt the offense tremendously, and they subsequently became one of the worst ground-game teams in the league.
Las Vegas averaged 79.8 rushing yards per game last season, which was by far the worst in the NFL. To put the Raiders’ struggles in perspective, no other team averaged fewer than 91 rushing yards per game.
In 2025, Las Vegas has prioritized fixing the rushing attack, with an almost entirely new group of ball carriers brought in to play under the new coaching staff.
Carroll’s return to the NFL should be a thrill, and fans know he loves to run the football.
His arrival will likely mean a significant shortage of carries for the other running backs on the roster, including one Pro-Bowler who just arrived this offseason. Former Miami Dolphins speed-back Raheem Mostert signed a one-year, $1.6 million contract with the Raiders in mid-March, and now his role with the team is up in the air with Jeanty’s arrival.
At 33 years old, there’s a chance he is now expendable. PFSN’s Sterling Xie believes Las Vegas may try to orchestrate a trade involving the running back.
“It’s obvious that Ashton Jeanty will be the bellcow running back for the Las Vegas Raiders from Day 1,” Xie wrote. “The sixth overall pick was the highest-drafted running back since Saquon Barkley in 2018, and he profiles as a three-down superstar who should be able to carry the backfield for the Raiders right away.
“All that leaves the rest of the backfield in an uncertain state. The Raiders still have Zamir White, while Sincere McCormick showed promise in a cameo starting role at the end of 2024. Las Vegas also signed Raheem Mostert to a one-year deal in free agency before they could’ve known they’d be landing Jeanty. While running back was a need even after Mostert’s arrival, the veteran could be the logical candidate to move.
“The 33-year-old hasn’t played on special teams much in years, with 112 special teams snaps over the last five seasons combined. McCormick showed enough promise that he shouldn’t be phased out of the offense completely, but there will be scant touches behind Jeanty.
“If the Raiders feel comfortable with Jeanty and McCormick as a young duo capable of soaking up the backfield snaps, Mostert could be moved to a team that needs an upgrade at its RB2 spot.”
READ MORE: NFL Trade and Cut Candidates After the 2025 NFL Draft
Mostert scored 23 rushing touchdowns in the last three seasons in Miami, including his 18-touchdown performance that led the NFL in 2023.
Sincere McCormick earned his reps with the Raiders, having initially signed as an undrafted free agent in 2022. He can contribute on special teams, and he’s almost a decade younger than Mostert.
Jeanty’s Impressive Volume at Running Back
Jeanty had teams scrambling for his services in the 2025 NFL Draft, and with good reason. His 2024 performance was off the charts, recording 2,601 rushing yards and 29 rushing touchdowns.
He rushed for the second-most yards in college football history, trailing only the legendary Barry Sanders. Jeanty was a contender for the strong Heisman Trophy, and had he not been up against one of the most unique two-way players the game has ever seen, Travis Hunter, he’d have won it easily.
Jeanty is still just 21 years old, with an impressive workload over the past three seasons. He totaled 748 carries, with a crazy 375 of those coming in the 2024 season alone. If you include his 23 receptions, he was two touches short of 400 in one year of college football.
The Raiders will undoubtedly want to hand him 20+ carries a game almost every week, which relegates the other running backs on the roster to minor roles.
Never mentioned who was getting let go… just adding more to the speculations everywhere.
You’re reaching in this story. If anyone gets let go I think it’s Zamir White.
As a diehard Raiders fan this article is definitely a reach!! Mostert will be the rookies back up, and all Raiders fan know White is the RB most likely to be cut. Laube and McCormick will battle it for 3rd spot.
I see your train of thought, yet I think that you might b reaching for a story, even if Jeanty does get the lions share of the carries I can’t see Coach Pete getting rid of Mossart, b4 we got Jeanty he was our best Rb therefore he will make our team and be a great complimentary back and if anything happens to Jeanty he will be a goo rb1.i think laube will be our rb3