Sincere

McCormick

The 49ers bolster their wide receiver depth with availability concerns swirling around Brandon Aiyuk (knee), Jauan Jennings (calf, contract) and Demarcus Robinson (suspension). Gage should not be expected to return flex value in Week 1. The 49ers also released S Richie Grant, while QB Adrian Martinez, RB Sincere McCormick and WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling were signed to the practice squad.

Miller was the Raiders’ sixth-round pick, and it seems very likely that the signal-caller will be back with Las Vegas on their practice squad. Tommy Mellott — a former college quarterback who is making the move to wide receiver — was also part of the cuts for the Raiders. The full list of players who won’t make the 53-man roster: aived DT Zach Carter, RB Chris Collier, DE Jahfari Harvey, WR Shedrick Jackson, LB Matt Jones, DT Treven Ma’ae, G Atonio Mafi, RB Sincere McCormick, DE Ovie Oghoufo, TE Carter Runyon, WR Justin Shorter, OL Laki Tasi, S Trey Taylor, CB Greedy Vance, T Dalton Wagner and S JT Woods, WR Alex Bachman, S Terrell Edmunds and TE Albert Okwuegbunam while Lonnie Johnson Jr. was placed on the injured list and designated for return.

We wouldn’t read too much into this just yet. While Carroll appears open to using multiple backs in his offense, it’s worth pointing out that during his two years coaching Kenneth Walker in Seattle (2022-2023), Walker enjoyed a 31 percent opportunity share while handling 61 percent of the team’s rush attempts — which ranked fifth-highest among running backs over that span. Jeanty is a legitimate three-down back sharing the field with 33-year-old Raheem Mostert and the underperforming duo of Zamir White and Sincere McCormick. While other backs will undoubtedly see work behind Jeanty, the rookie has appeared to live up to the hype in OTAs and mandatory minicamp, and should be in line for a high-end RB1 role as far as fantasy is concerned.

McCormick will miss the remainder of the season while on injured reserve after going down with an ankle injury in the Raiders’ Week 15 loss to the Falcons. It’s a frustrating end for a player who was finally making headway in the pros. McCormick entered the league as a UDFA in 2022 and spent the entire year on injured reserve. He didn’t make the Raiders’ final roster in either of the next two seasons but was called up from their practice squad earlier this year. He ran for 183 yards on 39 carries across five appearances while adding 29 yards on six receptions. Based on both the eye test and the efficiency metrics, McCormick was easily the team’s best running back. McCormick could hang around as a depth option in 2025, but the Raiders are all but guaranteed to invest heavily in the running back position in the offseason.

McCormick left the game in the second quarter after injuring his ankle in the opening frame. It’s a big loss to a Raiders team that ranks 32nd in rush yards per game but had seemed to find a spark with McCormick in the backfield the previous two weeks. McCormick managed eight yards on seven carries and 17 yards on two receptions prior to departing.

Pierce noted that Sincere McCormick would remain the team’s No. 1 back, so Mattison’s return won’t change much in the backfield. Mattison was limited in all three practices last week but was held out on Sunday. He should be upgraded to a full participant this week before being cleared for action. Fantasy managers shouldn’t worry about stashing Mattison even in deep leagues. McCormick, on the other hand, has worked himself into an RB3 ranking going forward.

McCormick out-touched Ameer Abdullah 17-2 a week after seeing just two more carries than him. McCormick had been gaining ground on the veteran heading into Week 14 and completed the takeover today. He also passed the eye test, breaking off multiple chunk gains including a long of 29 yards. Alexander Mattison and Zamir White were both out this week. Mattison appeared to be close to returning but was ruled out ahead of kickoff. If he returns, the Raiders could mix him in with McCormick, making it an ugly situation for fantasy managers. Still, this performance should earn McCormick the starting role with or without Mattison healthy.

Zamir White, on the other hand, remains out with a quad injury. Mattison participated in all three practices this week but never got upgraded to a full session, making him a true game-time call for Week 14. His return would signal the end of Sincere McCormick SZN. If Mattison doesn’t suit up, McCormick would serve as the Raiders’ primary early-down back, keeping him in the RB3 ranks for another week.

He added a yard by catching his only two targets in the air. McCormick showed more burst than Ameer Abdullah between the tackles, at least somewhat validating Antonio Pierce’s early-week premonition that he was “excited” about using McCormick this week. Where the backfield goes in Week 14 with potential returns for Zamir White and Alexander Mattison is anyone’s guess, but McCormick has done enough in the last two weeks to have a role if the Raiders aren’t purely relying on their earlier priors.

Cool. The 2022 Texas-San Antonio UDFA will likely remain part of a committee on an offense that is untrustable for fantasy purposes. We’re glad Mr. Pierce is excited about something on this football team with six weeks remaining. McCormick had five carries for 33 yards last week.