- Mostert was far from an immediate superstar in the league, going undrafted in 2015 and getting cut by six different NFL teams before he finally landed in San Francisco.
- Mostert keeps a list of his cut dates from previous NFL stops in his phone and looks at it before every game as motivation.
- Follow along with all of our coverage of Super Bowl LIV here .
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories .
San Francisco 49ers running back Raheem Mostert was unstoppable in the NFC Championship, with 220 yards and four touchdowns.
Raheem Mostert
ADVERTISEMENT
San Francisco 49ers running back Raheem Mostert was unstoppable in the NFC Championship game .
In the biggest game of his career, Mostert showed up ready to play, taking 29 carries for 220 yards and four touchdowns. Led by Mostert, the 49ers rushing attack was so dominant that San Francisco didn't attempt a pass for more than 20 minutes of game time. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo finished with just eight attempts on the day, two of which targeted Mostert out of the backfield.
While Mostert certainly carried the load, that hasn't always been the case in his career. Far from an immediate superstar, Mostert, instead, started his career by going undrafted and getting cut six times by teams across the NFL before landing in San Francisco.
ADVERTISEMENT
After not hearing his name called at the 2015 NFL Draft, Mostert spent practice squad stints with the Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, and Chicago Bears, before finally signing with the 49ers in 2016.
Through his first three years with San Francisco, Mostert was used sparingly, finally getting some playing time halfway through the 2018 season. Unfortunately, an injury would cut that season short, but Mostert showed enough to sign a three-year deal with San Francisco and in 2019 has developed into a breakout star for the 49ers at the perfect time.
"I did have a lot of doubters and naysayers," Mostert said of the teams that cut him early in his career. "Now I get to tell them, 'Hey, look where I am now.'"
According to a report from Kimberly Martin at Yahoo Sports , Mostert still uses his doubters as motivation before game days, keeping a list of his cut dates in his phone on his Notes app.
Per Martin:
ADVERTISEMENT
"I should show you this right now," the 49ers running back said, as he reached into his pocket to reveal the personal source of his motivation.
At the top of the screen are two words: "Cut dates."
Beneath it, a list of all of the teams who deemed him unworthy of a roster spot.
Philly September 4th, 2015
Dolphins October 13th, 2015
ADVERTISEMENT
Baltimore December 14th, 2015
Browns September 4th, 2016
After Mostert's monstrous performance on Sunday, he spoke out more on why he keeps the list, and how it has helped him keep going through tough times.
"It's crazy. I've been on seven different teams," Mostert said. "I actually still have the cut dates, and I look at that before every game. I look at the cut dates, when I got cut. ... Not everybody can deal with that type of stress. That type of pain and agony that I went through, but like I said, I kept the faith in not only myself, but whoever gave me an opportunity."
On Super Bowl Sunday, when Mostert is looking to replicate his dominant performance in the AFC title game, he'll be using those that never believed in him as motivation.
ADVERTISEMENT
- Read more:
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also:
- George Kittle had Jimmy Garoppolo sign a T-shirt featuring the quarterback shirtless to celebrate the 49ers' NFC Championship win
- The star of the 49ers' dominant win over the Packers nearly became a pro surfer and was cut 6 times in the NFL before breaking out
- NFL Conference Championships Our predictions for who advances to the Super Bowl