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Raiders Pushed to Give Fresh Start to Struggling 26-Year-Old Vet

zamir white

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Las Vegas Raiders RB Zamir White.

The Las Vegas Raiders have a lot of needs on the roster, but running back should be one position they feel good about. Ashton Jeanty didn’t have the rookie season many expected from him, but that was largely on the offensive line.

Jeanty is a tackle-breaking machine and a workhorse. The Raiders have to feel good about his potential in Klint Kubiak’s offense. The team needs another running back who can complement Jeanty, but he’s going to get a large percentage of the snaps.

Zamir White likely won’t be the player to back up Jeanty. He’s gotten multiple chances to carve out a role with the team, but hasn’t been a consistent contributor. ESPN’s Aaron Schatz believes it’s time for the Raiders to allow White to have a fresh start.

“It just never quite worked out for White with the Raiders since they selected him in the fourth round in 2022,” Schatz wrote. “White had only 17 carries for 70 yards as a rookie. In 2023, he managed 104 carries for 451 yards and a touchdown but finished near the bottom of my DVOA ratings because of a lack of explosive runs. He then tallied just 65 carries in 2024 and 12 carries in 2025, with less than 3 yards per carry in both seasons. But he might be able to resuscitate his career if there’s another team looking for an early-down thumper in free agency to fill the bottom of the depth chart.”

Does White Still Have Potential?

White was an excellent player at Georgia. The only big concern with him coming out of college was his injury history. He suffered multiple torn ACLs before coming into the NFL.

However, injuries haven’t been his issue. He’s mostly been healthy through his first four seasons. The biggest issue facing him is that he’s not productive. He averages 3.7 yards per carry throughout his career.

He’s a free agent, so it’s hard to see a scenario where the Raiders will try to bring him back. A fresh start is likely what’s best for him.

Should Raiders Bring Back Raheem Mostert?

After White struggled to be effective, Raheem Mostert started seeing more snaps, and he played well. Mostert is able to make big plays in the passing game, which makes him more valuable.

He’s going to be a free agent, but he could make a lot of sense for the Raiders. Mostert had a lot of success in Kyle Shanahan’s offense, which is similar to the system that Kubiak runs. He also had his best season under Mike McDaniel, who is another former Shanahan assistant.

Mostert is older now, so he could be thinking about retirement soon, but he’s still healthy. If he wants to keep playing, the Raiders should at least consider bringing him back. He’s a perfect fit in Kubiak’s system, and he won’t be asked to do much with Jeanty getting a huge share of the workload. He’d also be a cheap player to sign. The Raiders should bring in another running back, but having a veteran like Mostert around could be a wise move.

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