The San Francisco 49ers and their fans understand the idea of making tough financial decisions ….
And probably cannot throw stones at the news that the Miami Dolphins finally found a trade-dump partner for veteran defensive back Jalen Ramsey and veteran tight end Jonnu Smith.
But Raheem Mostert can.
The Pittsburgh Steelers come out the winners here as they are the new employers of a pair of Pro Bowl standouts.
So what’s the problem? Niners ex Mostert - who is also a former starter for those same Dolphins - is roasting Miami for treating its standouts “like (expletive).”
Mostert carved out a reputation for himself during his time in San Francisco as a productive tough guy whose best season with the franchise came in 2019 when he racked up 952 total yards from scrimmage and 10 touchdowns.
He was good with the Dolphins, too, but his role decreased last year and he joined the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason.
Teams make budget cuts. Most players get that.
Hey, didn't San Francisco recently dump Deebo Samuel in a trade largely due to finances? Wasn't there a roster juggling act performed by GM John Lynch to pay Brock Purdy, George Kittle and Fred Warner that put the squeeze on others?
But even as all of that is factual, that doesn't mean Mostert's emotion-driven "hot take'' is wrong ... even with the burning-bridges risk involved in him so openly and willingly opting to buck the NFL's salary cap based system that is never going away.