Dolphins Running Backs Ready for Return to San Francisco

Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr. did their best Wednesday to make it seem as though the Miami Dolphins game at San Francisco is just another game on the schedule, but the two running backs weren't necessarily all that convincing.

Try as they might, they let slip a little bit that there indeed will be something special about the game at Levi's Stadium considering each spent the previous four seasons with the 49ers.

And there's probably more meaning for Wilson, considering he was a member of the 49ers this year until they decided to trade for star running back Christian McCaffrey, at the same time rendering Wilson a background player on offense and leading to his request to be traded.

Wilson quickly said "not at all" when asked whether he might play just a tad harder than usual considering the circumstances under which left San Francisco, but more words kind of softened his answer considerably.

"I feel like when you get into aspects of the game, that's when you don't play like yourself or when you're not at your best," Wilson said. "Like I said, we're looking at it like every other week. Obviously everybody knows the story and there's a little bit of hurt behind it. Will it add an extra little passion? Of course. But will it make me go out of my way, think different, prepare different? Not at all."

Despite having left San Francisco almost a month ago, Wilson still leads the 49ers in rushing with 468 yards and his average of 5.1 yards per carry is significantly better than McCaffrey's 4.2 average in his five games with the team.

McCaffrey also is a dynamic receiver out of the backfield, so it's understandable the 49ers would want to add that kind of talent to their team.

That didn't make easier on Wilson.

"I mean, if anybody, that'd be bittersweet if somebody came and took your job," Wilson said. "I mean, that's how you feed your family. It's more so that than anything and it was just like the mission and the goals that I had set out for myself and everything that was transpiring, it just hurt. I mean, that'd be for anybody."

Wilson has been a tremendous pick-up for the Dolphins since he arrived in the trade for a fifth-round pick, rushing for 209 yards in three games, including a 100-yard outing against Cleveland, and scoring a touchdown in each game.

He has proved a clear upgrade over offseason acquisition Chase Edmonds, who was included in the trade with Denver for Bradley Chubb, creating the need for a new running back.

Wilson was asked whether he or Mostert would be more motivated for the 49ers game.

"It would have to be about both the same," Wilson said. "We ain't putting too much on it, though. Everybody's just ready to ball. Everybody has their own little personal thing they got with them, but all of a sudden we're not gonna try to individualize any of that and put anything on us because it's a team sport."

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MOSTERT AND THE OTHER FORMER 49ERS

Wilson and Mostert are among four former 49ers players on the Dolphins' active roster, along with wide receivers Trent Sherfield and River Cracraft (Salvon Ahmed spent training camp with the 49ers in 2020 but was waived in the summer and joined the Dolphins).

But it's clearly the two running backs whose return is most significant, partly because of the length of their time in San Francisco and their contributions to the 49ers in recent years.

Mostert, of course, had that magical performance in the 2019 NFC Championship Game when he rushed for 220 yards and four touchdowns in the 37-20 victory against the Green Bay Packers that sent the 49ers to Hard Rock Stadium for the Super Bowl LIV matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs.

This is what Mostert had to say about the running backs going back to the Bay area: "Just go out there and play honestly, you know, do what we do. "Me and Jeff, we complement each other of course. Everybody knows that. But we're just excited to go out there and show the world what we can do on, especially (against) a team that we've been with for quite some time. So it's gonna be exciting."

Along with the players, of course, are the three coaches who were with the 49ers last year — head coach Mike McDaniel, assistant head coach/tight ends coach Jon Embree, and wide receivers coach Wes Welker.

McDaniel acknowledged at the beginning of the week the significance of his return to Levi's Stadium, but vowed to not make the game about him.

His players, though, what it means to McDaniel.

"Oh, yeah, it means a little bit more," Mostert said. "Maybe he might not say it as much, but I know it does. Just because he worked with Kyle Shananan all those years and he was able to do some unbelievable things and so as I, me and Jeff and Trent Sherfield and even River Cracraft. We put our time there and our due over there. That's where we got our jump-start for our career.

"So, just going back, man, you get a little anxious, but you get excited because that's a good opportunity for us to go out there and try to be 9-3. And that's the ultimate goal."

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