Which Team is the 49ers Ideal Trade Suitor for Raheem Mostert?
Raheem Mostert wants out of San Francisco.
If the 49ers are not going to honor his request for a pay raise, then he would rather play elsewhere. It's tough to go against Mostert on this. He just wants to be paid what he is worth, which is a simple $2 million kicker. It's not like he is asking for a high sum of money. However, I sincerely doubt that the 49ers will do anything with his deal.
So what are the 49ers options here?
Of course, they could honor his request and trade him. The only issue with that is running backs do not generate much, if any real value in trades anymore. And considering Mostert's career, there is a case to be made that his success is directly connected to Kyle Shanahan. He hadn't had much luck elsewhere until he came to the 49ers.
Teams will not be lining up at the door to take Mostert off the 49ers' hands. But there is one team that could prove to be the ideal trade suitor for Mostert.
That team is the Houston Texans.
Houston has been spamming the transaction log ever since head coach Bill O'Brien came into power. The guy just can't help himself. He puts Jon Gruden's power thirst to shame and that is saying something.
The San Francisco 49ers have a chance to attain adequate compensation for Mostert by sending him to the Texans. In fact, they could probably even swindle the Texans for as high as a fourth- or third-round pick. You can't put anything past this team because of the guy calling the shots.
The reason the Texans would be tempted to pull the trigger on acquiring Mostert is because O'Brien loves speed. It's why he acquired Brandin Cooks from the Los Angeles Rams following his insane giveaway of DeAndre Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals.
Not to mention that O'Brien is surely still having nightmares about his humiliating defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs. Had the Texans had a dependable running back on their team, like Mostert, they could have looked to drain more of the clock. No one is going to be scared of Carlos Hyde like they would against Mostert.
That could equate to defenses loading up the box more, which would play into the Texans' favor. Because of all the speed they have at wide receiver, loading up the box would bode well for them to take the constant deep shots that they want.
Houston is really the only team that would make sense to attempt to trade Mostert to.
They're the easiest to take advantage of. The 49ers could convince them to take him, while also reeling in solid draft compensation. This is an option for the 49ers to consider. I do not think they will actually go through with trading Mostert.
But should they see things differently, the Texans would be their ideal trade suitor.
